Crutch
by BigGuysLittleBoys
Summary: Bakugo has raped Midoriya - and has been rightfully arrested. When Midoriya is overwhelmed by the horror of his experience, one person decides to take charge of his recovery: the impossibly responsible class rep - Tenya Iida. (Todoroki wishes he could help too.) A psychological rape recovery fic starring IidaxMidoriya (Iideku) (also some suicidal warning) Will get dirty eventually.
1. Neither Forward Nor Back

**Warnings: **The central plot of this fic revolves around recovery from a rape, if that bothers you at all I'm sorry, you should leave now.

Aaand suicidal thoughts.

It's also very psychologically driven (I'm most interested in exploring character thoughts and motivations, I'm waaay too rusty to mess with a lot of story developments and poetic descriptions - so uh, if that's not what you're looking for either - my audience dwindles by the minute, bwahaha.

For any special few left over - here's to you.

EDIT: So, currently writing chapter 10, I've just rewatched the whole series and booooy was there a lot I misremembered. (It had been like a year since I had seen 'em) I might fix it some day, but, well... I'm aware of my errors. XD Sorry!

* * *

Class 1-A all stood in the dormitory lobby, crowded around the windows and muttering speculations to each other. All except for Midoriya (who had been driven off to the hospital), Tokoyami (who was currently being questioned by the police as a witness), and Bakugo - who was currently cuffed and splayed over the hood of a police car.

"What happened...?"

"Did you see his room...?"

Upstairs, Midoriya's bedroom was a burnt wreck. The only one not willing to jump to the conclusion that Bakugo was being rightfully arrested was Kirishima, though his defense didn't have a lot of conviction. More like he just kept on reminding people of the possibility that it had been a fight rather than an attack.

"Do you think it had something to do with Midoriya saving him today...?" Yaoyarozu suggested.

"What kind of messed up dude tries to murder a guy for saving his life?" Kaminari replied.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but Bakugo has some serious issues..." Jiro added.

"Bad attitude, sure - we've never seen Bakugo actually do anything _bad_, okay? We're all just jumping to conclusions here." Kirishima was getting tired of having to play the devil's advocate every 10 seconds.

"I've never liked the way he treats Midoriya." Iida was glaring directly at the presumed offender.

"They go way back and Midoriya never complains about it, maybe that's just their thing," The redhead was kind of waiting for one of his retorts to come back to bite him the more he thought about it.

"Stockholm syndrome - victims don't always speak out against their attackers because they're afraid or they've been convinced they deserve it," said Tsu.

"Look, they're taking him away!" Ashido pointed to the officers loading Bakugo into the backseat.

"He didn't fight or anything... I think I even saw him nodding." said Sero.

"Tokoyami's coming back inside, we can ask him." Uraraka was wringing her hands.

Upon walking through the door the bird boy was immediately surrounded by his classmates. He knew exactly what they wanted. "I didn't actually see anything happen, but I saw Midoriya... there were burns all over his body. And they said Bakugo just confessed as well. He assaulted and raped Midoriya."

...

_3 o'clock._

3 p.m. in the afternoon, and Izuku hadn't lifted a single finger today. He was just lying purposelessly in this hospital bed, his gaze shifting from the lackluster view of an office building from outside his window to the dotted white ceiling overhead. They'd been his chief companions for the past couple weeks, though he had a steady stream of visitors - not that he knew what to say to them... his mother had taken the whole week off to continually sit by his side, though he wished she hadn't stayed in the evening. It happened on half of those first week nights, right as the sun set and a sea of orange tint flooded the city... Izuku's mind transported him right back to the night of the incident. It took all those episodes for the nurses to figure out what was causing it and to curtain his window mid-afternoon. He couldn't bear to think about it... but he didn't know what else to think about. He was caught in a limbo, neither able to move forwards nor backwards. He simply lay and tried not to think.

The whole class had come to see him last weekend - all of their faces a perfect painting of concern, their words a delicate tango of niceties. They didn't know what to say to him either. No one knew what to do with Izuku, especially Izuku himself - but at least Iida took charge as usual. "Uraraka and I will come to visit you again next week, Midoriya. Alright?"

Today was that next Saturday. It did help a little, having a visit to look forward to - but at the same time, Izuku felt a slowly mounting pressure. Lately, with the way every one had been talking to him, it was like they were walking on glass - so afraid of saying the wrong thing, watching Izuku's every reaction with trepidation, waiting for him to say something... he knew why - he didn't think he'd know any better either - but it was... stressful.

Iida of course had texted their time of arrival. _3:15. 15 more minutes..._ Just then, a knock came at the door.

"Come in!" Midoriya sat up straighter for the first time today.

His formal navy haired classmate stepped inside. "Good afternoon, Midoriya."

"Hello Iida. Where's Uraraka?"

A polite frown spread over Iida's face. "I'm sorry, Midoriya - something came up with her family, she won't be able to make it today."

"Oh no, what happened with her family?"

"You put your concern for others so far ahead of yourself," his tone was bordering on reprimanding, but endearing. "It's nothing to worry about - they've actually decided to let her demo some of her ideas for how to help the family business with her quirk."

"Really?! That's great!"

"Yes, she knew you'd understand how important it was to her." The nearly man-sized boy pulled a chair up by Izuku's bedside. Izuku could practically feel the conversation about to swing towards the subject of himself. He tried to swing it back with all his might.

"How about you, Iida? How are you?" Izuku blurted.

The navette looked taken aback, then thoughtful. "Just busy with classwork, as I'm sure you already knew." _Oh no, a dead end._ Izuku scrambled wildly in his mind for a back-up deflection. "Actually," Iida ducked out of sight, rummaging in his bag. "I've brought my notes, in case you'd be interested in what we're covering right now."

_That's just like Iida._ Izuku sighed with satisfied relief. "Yes, please!"

A full lecture and discussion later(accented with video footage Iida had taken on his phone just for Izuku - which was frankly touching), Izuku realized with shock the sun had gone down without him even noticing. His conversation with Iida had been so refreshing and... comforting. He was deeply considerate, but his confident and structured personality carried Izuku's broken mind through the conversation seamlessly. He never sat around waiting for Izuku to say something, but he was always ready to listen. Having a window into a stable, busy mind made Izuku actually feel whole himself, if only for a few hours. He guiltily wished this visit could last longer.

"It's pretty late. Do you have to go?"

"I suppose I should." The way he reluctantly said it immediately made Izuku regret bringing it up - maybe if he hadn't said anything... but no, he couldn't impose so much. Iida packed his notes back up. "Would you like me to bring you a copy of my notes to keep next time?"

Izuku perked up. "Next time?"

"Of course. Next week, same time."

"...yes!" Before he could even try to hold them back, the tears were falling down his round freckled cheeks. "Iida... thank you...!"

_I have such a wonderful friend...!_

* * *

End Chapter 1.

A/N: Been so long since I've written anything and far longer since I've published - but you know what - I'm frustrated by the lack of material about this coupling. I need more to exist in the world. May it spread like a virus. And sorry I'm a twisted and cruel person who can only write about messed up situations - they're just what draws me in.


	2. Men of Fire

Week two. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stare at nothing and think of nothing, as he had spent most of his first week. Nor could he muster the willpower to care about any thing else - schoolwork or news broadcasts simply wouldn't permeate his interest any more. His mother asked if he wanted to watch any of the All Might videos he obsessed over as a kid... it was a sweet thought, but... for some reason, the thought of All Might right now was bringing him nothing but discomfort and shame. Dangerous thoughts were constantly lurking, like a circling pack of vultures over the mangled remains of his spirit. It was hard to even imagine himself having any kind of future - if he didn't have a future, what mattered?

Iida had bumped up his number of visits to two this week. Each was like a window back into a real life - like all he had been able to see was grey, but Iida's visits brought color back. It was a little bit frustrating - the way some how having Iida there to talk to about hero stuff felt good and familiar, but then if he tried to study it himself later, it brought him nothing. Sometimes his mind wouldn't even process what he was reading, his eyes would rove over a sentence several times, he would word it under his breath out loud, but it refused to be understood.

As he was lying in bed, trying to will himself to think of something but not the things that wanted most to come to mind - there was a knock at the door. _Probobly mom,_ Izuku wiped at the recurring tear streaks, tears came so often he wasn't even sure if they were fresh or not. He heard the nurse finishing a sentence with a -kun _Maybe Iida?_ he hoped for a split second. But then as the door swung open it was Shouto Todorki walking up to the foot of his bed with his usual unreadable demeanor - no, perhaps that was a hint of sympathy Midoriya saw?

"Midoriya... I'm here to visit." Midoriya nodded in acknowledgement. Well, that at least cleared the possibility that he was coming to announce any thing. Midoriya couldn't deny he was a bit surprised that Todoroki had come to visit, of all the people in his class - but then he realized that perhaps he was so accustomed to the needs of his hospitalized mother, that this was normal to him? He continued to watch Todoroki, eyes peeled for further clues.

Todoroki came to sit in the chair by Midoriya's side. "It's..." his eyes fell to his lap, searching for his next words. "...unforgivable, what happened to you." Midoriya didn't really have anything to add, seeing as how he was doing everything he could to run from it. Todoroki continued, "... you helped me start on the path to overcoming my trauma. I want to help you with yours." Hesitantly but with practiced determination, he reached for Midoriya's closest hand.

The second Todoroki's fingers brushed Midoriya's skin he jerked back and threw his arms defensively in front of his face. "Stop! Please stop!" Todoroki immediately regretted his choice, questioned for a moment his qualification to help Midoriya, felt a bubble of disappointment rising - but still resolved to try his best. "It's just me, you don't have to be afraid." He rasped as soothingly as he could. He bent his head to the side, searching for Midoriya's eyes through his shield of arms.

For just a second glimpsed them - entranced terror, wide and glazed, not really looking at what was there - but then he saw reality dawn back upon Midoriya and his eyes were suddenly back in the same world, though now miserable and welling with tears. "I'm sorry..." _Don't apologize to me, I should be sorry_.

"I'm sorry... ... I felt... Kacchan's fire...!" The last two words dripped with pain. Todoroki's eyes went nearly as wide as Midoriya's had been. The chair clattered to the ground in his haste to retreat from the room, but even as he walked out the hospital front doors, all he could hear was Midoriya's sobbing.

* * *

End chapter 2.

A/N: Very short chapter - don't worry, they're about to get longer from here. Sorry Todoroki but you have enough worshipers - this is a Tenya only zone, he needs his time to shine, dang it.


	3. Everything's Ok When You're Here

Today, Izuku had been in the hospital for a whole month. Last week Iida came 4 times. This week - Iida had come every day. So far. He hadn't promised he would, but each afternoon he sent Midoriya a little heads up that he was on his way. Iida's visits had quickly become the highlight of Midoriya's day. They were the only times his thoughts didn't feel like they were trying to drown him. He hadn't even been able to get any food down on the days that Iida wasn't there - a detail that Midoriya had a sneaky suspicion made it's way to Iida's ears on the third week, and that's why he'd been coming every day. He knew he should feel more guilty about it, but... his greed was strong and desperate.

But today it was past Iida's usual confirmation hour and the phone he'd been cradling hadn't made a peep. He continued to stare longingly at the lightless screen, occasionally glancing as inconspicuously around as he could, looking for signs of his classmate. A half an hour that felt like an eternity later, a nurse happened to be passing by and he managed the courage to ask, "Did Iida say if he's coming today?"

"Not as far as I know, Midoriya." She said without masking a small amount of exasperation.

Midoriya's stomach plummeted. But still he waited, continuing to stare his phone down. Another hour later the same nurse came by and barked "You should just message him," rolling her eyes.

Midoriya jumped in his seat. "O-Okay." As though all he needed was some one else to vindicate him he immediately started drafting a text - after about fifty rewrites, he settled on '_How are you, Iida?_' Then proceeded to check his phone obsessively for the next 10 minutes, barely able to sit still as a questioning pang in his chest wondered how Iida felt upon seeing that text - if he was doing something else, if he couldn't believe Midoriya's neediness - maybe he shouldn't've sent it after all... until the exhilaration of the light indicating a response washed over him.

'_Just studying for the exam tomorrow - I'm sorry I couldn't come by today. How are you?_'

'_Oh - I'm sorry to bother you, you're probably very busy. I'm fine. I'll stop texting you now._' Midroya's fingers fumbled with his scramble to efface himself.

'_That's nonsense, you can text me as much as you like. Have the nurses taken you off the supplements today?_'

Of course Iida was keeping track of Midoriya's situation even better than he was - he had to be put on supplements because of exactly how much he was refusing to eat. Not only was it difficult to find pleasure in any thing worldly, but also... the attack had scarred and burned him on the inside. He was just about recovered from that now (thanks to the help of several healers), but voiding had proven a traumatic experience that he was not eager to repeat. Still, now that his tract was healed, they were removing an excuse for him to skimp on food.

'_I think so. I'll let you get back to studying - good luck with the exam!_'

He had already imposed, bothering Iida after he'd decided to take the day to himself. It was perfectly reasonable for him to have a day - Midoriya couldn't be so selfish and wish for any more. He steeled himself with resolve to be thankful.

'_Thanks! I'm always here if you want to talk._'

His resolve threatened to completely melt. But he convinced himself that was only a nicety - Iida hadn't come today, that meant he wanted to be left alone. He would have to occupy himself.

A small spark of inspiration struck him and he pulled out the notes Iida had been sharing with him. Everything that was going to be on the exam was here - he could review it all like he was going to take it too. Like he was studying with Iida right now.

_The elemental quirk advantage cycle: Ground Electricity Water __**Fire**_

Midoriya winced and skipped ahead to the next page.

_Legal considerations when decapacitating a villain:_

_What is 'safest' in terms of neutralizing a threat is often the detriment of a villain's ultimate well-being - and while under section 46D heroes are authorized to take necessary measures to protect any innocent from a known aggressor - subsection G forbids any excessive harm..._

Midoriya recited the lines in his head in Iida's authoritative tone. Admittedly, legal considerations were no one's favorite subject - but as with everything (especially things no one else seemed willing to do), Iida unquestioningly stepped up to the plate on these.

Paging even further forward was a breakdown of some common landscape tactics. For the first time in so long - Midoriya had the urge to reach for his journal to reference something. The class brought it along with his textbooks when they all came to visit - but he'd just let it sit in that same box until now. He hadn't told any one why, and they hadn't questioned him. Even now his hands started trembling at even the thought of actually grabbing it.

A trickle of cold sweat beaded down his cheek - he could do it. It was _his_ journal, something he'd had for _years_. _You knew Kacchan for all those years too_. He tried to shake the unwanted inner commentary out of his head. Moving with a conviction he was afraid of losing, he bent over the side of the bed and pulled his journal out. _There, see? Just a notebook._ He told the torturous inner voice indignantly, staring down the cover as he held it out in front of him. But just as soon as he'd finished the sentence in his mind, the world around the journal started to blur...

_"Where is it?! That goddamn journal, where are you hiding it?!"_

_Particles of ash and ember danced through the air._

_Midoriya didn't dare to speak, just continued to watch Bakugo's rampage from his bed. All of his belongings lay in pieces on the floor - action figure pieces and broken picture frames - the posters already charred to nothingness from within. At least one thing would make it out safe._

_Bakugo roared with rage as he tore out the drawers of the desk and - upon finding nothing of interest inside - exploded the frame, sending wood chips hurtling through the air. That left pretty much nothing in the room, so he quickly came to Midoriya himself._

_He grabbed his wrist and squeezed menacingly. "__**Where is it.**__"_

_Midoriya gasped with pain but still refused to speak. Bakugo let the trace amount of sweat on his palms combust into dozens of minuscule explosions directly on Midoriya's skin - like a chain of fiery bee stings. Midoriya let out a howl, praying for that rare sliver of empathy he knew Bakugo had to show itself._

_Instead after hearing another frustrated growl he felt Bakugo's knee jab his gut - he started to double over, but Bakugo's hands found his neck and forced him on his back, getting tighter and tighter, cutting off his air - but never for more than a few seconds, just enough to hear him choke and wheeze. As painful as it was, Midoriya knew it was half-hearted - Bakugo wouldn't actually strangle him. He just had to last through this._

_A look of inspiration shot across Bakugo's face and he threw Midoriya to the side towards the center of the bed. Midorya was too busy gasping for air to stop Bakugo from lifting up the pillow he'd been guarding. Midoriya's life work was sitting in Bakugo's triumphant hands. A crazed satisfaction was glimmering in his eyes._

_"No, stop!" Midoriya flung himself forward to grab it but Bakugo stepped back out of reach._

_"If you try and take it by force, I'll destroy it immediately. If you want it..." Bakugo unzipped his pants and released a steadily growing erection. "Suck my dick."_

The journal had fallen into his lap. He flailed his legs, kicking it off the side of the bed without having to touch it. It was unusual for him to break out of his reverie midway, especially without any one waking him up. His heart was pounding. He looked around the room, trying to find something to anchor himself to before his mind dragged him back inside. The speckled ceiling, the bedside table - the copy of Iida's notes, his cell phone.

He picked up his phone and immediately opened up his texts with Iida. He scrolled back through them. _I'm always here if you want to talk._ He looked up at the corner of the screen for the time - 10:46.

_It's too late to text him. Stop imposing so much. Just get a grip. _But he daren't pry his eyes off the phone, he could still feel the memories looming around him. He just continued to scroll and reread, to pick apart the nuances of every single word Iida had sent to him. Every message just made him long to talk more. Eventually the dam broke.

_I'm scared._ Send.

_What kind of a message was that? It's so vague. What's he going to think? At this hour, too? He's probably asleep and I woke him up and he's mad at me, I'm sorry Iida, I'm terrible._ The usual tears started rolling down his face as he felt his fragile heart threatening to fall to pieces. Each second multiplied his dread as a deep loneliness and assumed rejection towered higher and higher over him. Then his phone started ringing, flashing the name 'Tenya Iida'.

"I-Iida?"

"Are you alright Midoriya?"

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry...! I didn't mean to... you didn't have to call me, I shouldn't have said anything, I'm so sorry..." He never would have expected a phone call - though come to think of it, after what he sent, of course Iida would - how could he have been so stupid? This was far too much kindness.

"Midoriya, stop apologizing. I want to know how you are, you don't have to be ashamed of any thing. It's just like I said, you can always talk to me." Despite his sincerity, there certainly was a tiredness in his voice.

"I'm... I'm sorry Iida." Midoriya couldn't get over his panic.

"What did I just say about apologizing?" Iida's tone was gently reprimanding.

"It's just... when I'm here just by myself, in the silence... it comes back to me..." Izuku finally opened up - just wanting some one to hear him.

There was a thoughtful silence. Then... "...do you want me to come to you right now?"

"You can't, it's the middle of the night!" Midoriya balked.

"I will, Midoriya. I'll come. Just hang in a little bit until I'm there, alright?" He could hear Iida standing up and moving around to get ready.

"No! You have a test tomorrow, you need your rest! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have texted you. Please, I'll be fine, you should go to bed." Midorya pleaded as quickly as he could.

"15 minutes." Then he hung up.

A flurry of emotions fluttered around inside of Midoriya - nervousness, worry, giddiness - but most of all, hope. As guilty as he was, he couldn't help feeling supremely pleased and validated by Iida's gestures. Iida was running to him from across town right now, bursting as quickly as he could with his quirk.

There was a familiar curt knock, then the door swung open. "I'm here, just like I promised." Iida managed to sound composed even between panting breaths.

"You shouldn't have... I'm..." _at a loss for words. _ "thank you." He sobbed.

Iida crossed to his usual spot by Midoriya's side and took a hold of his hands. "_I'm_ sorry. I should have just come to visit you like normal today. If you were lonely, it's my fault."

"That's not true at all! You're... you're really being so amazing to me, this whole time - I don't know why or how I can ever repay you..."

The man sized boy shook his head. "I know you would have done the same for me if I were hospitalized."

"I'm glad it wasn't. You don't deserve any thing bad to happen to you, Iida. Ever."

"Neither do you." As obvious as that was to Iida, he wasn't sure Midoriya agreed. He made to sit down in his chair, then realized something by his feet. Midoriya's precious journal was carelessly opened on the floor, a few of its pages being folded from the apparent impact with the ground. He slowly knelt and picked it up - guessing it was cast aside during an episode and thus a little unsure about exactly what to say about it.

As soon as Midoriya saw what was in Iida's hands he looked away. "O-Oh, I dropped it. Could you please put it back in the box?" He tried to sound as inconspicuous as he could, but secrecy was not one of his strong points.

Iida obliged, but then said, "Midoriya... is there any thing I can do for you? Is there maybe any thing you want to talk about...?" He bent closer and searched to meet Midoriya's eyes.

"No, no, I don't want to think about that again, please-"

"I'm sorry. It's alright. You don't have to." He reached for Midoriya's hands again and gave them a reassuring squeeze. He instinctively knew that touch was a good tether from troubled thoughts, so he had gotten into the habit of holding hands whenever Midorya seemed distressed - which admittedly, had not been that often when he was around. Only a few times when he was having an episode before Iida arrived.

"I'm just thankful that you're here. Really, really thankful."

Iida's gut was telling him that they shouldn't just be sweeping the scars under the rug tonight. He spent a few seconds second trying to think of any tactful way to try and push it again - studied Midoriya's face for any clues - but ultimately faltered with overwhelming sympathy for the vulnerable fear that had flashed through features and the nearly blissful expression he was wearing now, settling to think that the poor greenette was having a particularly difficult night and all he needed right now was distraction until it passed. His eyes caught the notes on Midorya's bedside desk. "I know what might get your mind off of things. You can help me review for the exam."

"Of course!"

After just a few sections, Midoriya could see drowsiness starting to overtake Iida - he purposefully chose to read a few long paragraphs in a slow soothing voice and was pleased to find that they put him straight to sleep. Midoriya on the other hand was wide awake, but perfectly content with the unconscious company. He marvelled for a bit at how... safe he felt, even without Iida talking to him (as that's always what they did together) - he had thought that Iida's visits brought him relief mostly by distraction, but evidently there was some inherent element of Iida just being present that was so comforting. Maybe it was because his presence in this particular moment was a testament to exactly how much he cared?

And it was true, every time he raked his eyes over the older boy he felt an overwhelming swell of exactly that - that he was heard, understood, and loved. The very nourishment he craved. For the first time, Midoriya actually believed everything was going to be okay.

* * *

End chapter 3.


	4. Vacuum of You (thats not the principal)

Time had changed both everything and nothing since that wonderful night. It had been three more weeks. Iida had come every single day - and at first, this made Midoriya happy, but then in their time apart, he started to feel worse. Midoriya had been officially physically recovered for the last two weeks, yet he was still here in the hospital. Every time Iida came, he felt more and more indentured to this kindness, more and more guilty that he was taking up so much of his time - why wasn't he better by now?

When he first arrived, they'd tried to set him up for therapy, but every session sent him into an episode, so they'd decided to hold off for a bit. Now they were trying to start it back up - and Midoriya was starting to be able to hold himself through them about half the time, yet... they weren't really productive, because in order to keep himself in the moment he was effectively trying to shut out what happened completely.

All of his hope had quickly evaporated. The doctors themselves couldn't help but hint that his recovery was taking longer than they had anticipated, the nurses were obviously weary of having to wait on him - his mind was rapidly filling with darkness. The unwanted voice was growing louder and louder. _You'll never get better - you're too weak. You're doomed to leech off of other people's kindness forever. You're a waste of space and you're holding Iida back._

His conscious self couldn't deny any of it. _It's true... I'm so pathetic... I'm sitting here in this hospital bed even though all of my injuries are healed, just taking up space. There are other people that need this care more than me. I... I can't sit with myself for more than 12 hours without Iida's help, and it's obviously taking a toll on him - he's getting more and more tired. If I'm not getting better at all... if I'm just going to keep on being a burden to him and everyone else... I should just get rid of myself now, before I can disappoint them any more._

Those were the thoughts that had been circling in his head for the last 48 hours. Perhaps he was just double checking that it was true - paying extra close attention to how his existence seemed to be affecting every one, and naturally - looking for opportunities to accomplish the deed. The last couple of visits with Iida were very difficult - he was tempted to confess it all, his feelings and his plans - but if he said it, Iida would do everything to stop it, and hadn't he decided it was for the best? Iida could only prolong the inevitable - there was no hope of truly saving him any more, right?

So instead he did his best to at least make it a pleasant last few meetings for Iida - though he'd been losing interest in the material and discussions, he did his best to fake it these times. To pretend he was better... he smiled and asked Iida to explain things more... Iida didn't seem completely convinced (Midoriya never had been a great liar) but Midoriya refused to admit it was a ruse. He internally whispered a mournful farewell each time Iida left, thinking _and this will be the last time_.

Today, it seemed Iida was running pretty far behind. Or maybe he wasn't coming? Maybe he really had finally had enough... _Good. That means he's ready for this too._ The bitter satisfaction of the thought was the last push he needed. He finally decided it was time. He pulled a binder from the box beside his bed and a small roll of bandage tape, taking them to the bathroom (the only non-surveillanced part of his room, though it had no door so any one who walked in could see him. But he was confident the nurses would leave him alone - they did as much as they could.

Inside of the binder was a small packaging bag he'd nicked from the garbage - not quite big enough to fit over his head, but wide enough to fit his nose and mouth. That's all he needed. He set about taping it in place and kneeled in the corner, drawing his final breaths.

_**Take a swan dive off the roof**_, his murderer's words chanted.

_Here's what you want, Kacchan._

...

Iida had been called to the principal's office. "Mr. Aizawa has told me that you've been spending every afternoon at the hospital lately."

"That's right, sir."

"I see... don't you think that's... a bit excessive?"

"Excuse me, sir? Are you discouraging me from helping a friend in his greatest time of need?"

"Iida, please. Of course I care about young Midoriya's well being too, but - perhaps your approach to this isn't having the effect you think."

Iida prickled. "And how exactly would you know that, sir? I don't believe you've been to see Midoriya once." He knew his tone was out of line, but he couldn't stomach this.

All Might hadn't been expecting him to dissent - he was clearly struck by the accusation. "... it's true. I'm afraid I can't discuss the exact reasons with you, but it's not for a lack of care - I promise you. But all the same... too much care is not the answer either. If he never stops using you as a crutch, he'll never regain the muscle he needs to walk - do you understand?"

It would have perhaps made more sense to Iida if it weren't coming from some one who he was so convinced knew nothing about the situation. "I'm afraid I don't. And as I've been able to maintain my grades, I don't see how this concerns you as a school matter either."

All Might released a very heavy sigh. It appeared his idea of 'nice' tactics weren't going to work. "It still does. You've been bringing Midoriya class material. Officially, his education has been suspended - therefore this is a breach of our privacy practices. You've been given a warning, if you do it again, you'll be suspended as well."

Iida jumped to his feet, incensed. "Midoriya, suspended?! You've got to be kidding me! On what grounds?! How can you possibly justify such a thing?! Do you mean to just throw him away?!"

"That's enough - decisions have been pended until his condition resolves-"

"He WILL recover! And you know what, he would be doing a lot better with your vote of confidence. How dare you think such things as his mentor, as his hero-"

The door burst open to reveal Mr. Aizawa. "Iida. Detention. Right now. It's not your place to question the principal's decisions. I'm frankly disappointed that you wouldn't suspect that he happens to have a lot more information to consider than you."

Still seething, Iida followed Aizawa - glancing back and finding some primal satisfaction from glimpsing a slightly shaken expression seeping across All Might's face.

The detention itself was completely pointless and Iida used the adrenaline of his rage to rush himself as quickly through it as he could - it was holding him up from his visit with Midoriya - which he was still determined to make, all this nonsense be damned. Aizawa of course knew exactly where he was running off to and merely shot him a dead pan warning expression.

The detention had worn his engines out a bit and it still the middle of the day, so he couldn't just make a mad dash over like he wanted to, but still he ran the whole way. Even without full power, he could still make it much faster on foot than he could by train or bus (with a few long jumps over traffic as well).

When he finally got up to Midoriya's room, his legs were actually pretty sore. "I'm sorry I'm late Midoriya," he wasn't in the bed - Iida glanced around and then spotted his shadowy figure huddled in the corner of the bathroom? He ran over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying to lean him back so he could see his face. "Midoriya, what's wr-"

The minute he saw the bag he ripped it off. Midoriya gasped, choked, and immediately started crying and flailing helplessly - not his usual frantic cries, but gutteral wails of absolute misery. If one could die of shame, he'd still have succeeded. But no, he had failed - and even worse, he was caught in the act by the one person who he wanted to be strongest for. Ashamed that he was so weak that Iida just being late was what tipped him into this terrible mistake.

Iida's brow was knitted into the most beautiful show of concern. "Midoriya, are you alright? J-Just breath, breath..." he tried to get a look into Midoriya's eyes but the flailing wouldn't allow it. Instead he vaguely wrestled Midoriya into a hug. "I'm sorry I was late! I'm so sorry! Is this my fault...?"

Midoriya's heart felt like it was being stabbed. "No! No... Iida... it's _my_ fault... I'm such a waste... you would be better off if I just... didn't exist any more!" His eyes squinted like a clenched fist, as though they were trying to shut off the incessant flow of tears.

"Never! Is that what you were thinking?!" Iida was completely speechless. He pulled Midoriya back to arms length to read him. He had no idea what the right answer to that was - suddenly he felt vastly out of his breadth. Midoriya needed the help of a professional. Thankfully, there was a help button next to the toilet, which he mashed desperately for a moment.

"It's true... I'm not getting any better... I've just been getting even weaker. I can't stand my own head when you're not around... I can't be such a burden on you...!"

"You're not a burden to me at all. I... I just want to help you. That's all I want..."

One of the nurses non-nonchalantly peeked her head in. "Somebody called in here?" But upon seeing the two huddled on the bathroom floor her attitude became more attentive.

"Miss... Midoriya - just tried to suffocate himself." The matter-of-factness some how made it feel stranger.

"I'm going to have to check his vitals. You might want to wait outside." She slipped some gloves on and called into the hall for some backup.

"Y-Yes, of course." Iida reluctantly let go of Midoriya as the nurses crowded around him, herding him back to his bed and prodding him with needles. As the waves of medical staff ebbed in and out, he let their tide wash him from the room.

* * *

End chapter 4.

A/N: Just when you thought Midoriya was getting all better... the road to recovery can't be that easy. Good thing he basically has a saint to help him through it. I'm not the only one who thinks Iida is this ridiculously noble, right? (And sorry All Might doesn't really feel great here, but I'm struggling to pump this out even without worrying about the peripheral characters so oof)


	5. Roadmap

Iida stood like a pillar beside Midoriya's door, but he was coursing with nervous energy and dripping with sweat. He needed a professional opinion on what he should do, but everyone filing in and out at the moment were physicians (and assistants) - he needed to wait for a mental specialist.

His nerves couldn't take it any more. He stepped a little further down the hall and dialed his brother. "Onii-san, it's me. I'm... I'm at the hospital, for Midoriya. I just... he tried to commit suicide! He said he was, guilty about burdening me. He said he feels like he's getting weaker instead of stronger... ... brother, is it my fault? Have I made him so dependent on me it's hindering his recovery?" He couldn't help but think back to his conversation with All Might today and wonder if it was really so obvious that even some one who hadn't talked to Midoriya could have foreseen this and he had failed miserably?

"Whoa, Tenya. Calm down. You just wanted to help your friend, you didn't do anything wrong. You couldn't have known he would come to feel this way."

"Could I have?! Maybe I've been careless! Maybe I wasn't thinking enough, maybe-"

"You can't consider yourself responsible for some one else's state of mind, that's just unreasonable. You had good intentions, that's what matters, alright?"

Of course his brother would support him no matter what, so the words didn't have quite the weight as intended - not to mention all his brother know about this was what Iida himself had shared. But all the same, it felt a little better. "...a-alright. Fine. But... but is it unhealthy now? Would he recover better without me?"

"I think you know just as well as I that you should probably get the psychologist's opinion on that. But, since you're asking me... I don't think so. I don't see how it could possibly be better for him to struggle through this all by himself than to have such a faithful friend by his side."

"...thank you, onii-san."

"Any time. Hey, are _you_ alright?"

"I'm shaking, worse than I have during any of the crises I've had to face. I think it's because the thought of being the one to cause the death of some one I care about... it's more terrifying than any danger I've ever faced."

"Remember, it's not your fault. You're doing your best to help, just like you do in the field. I'm proud of you, Tenya."

"...right. I'm going to keep watching for the psychologist now - thank you onii-san."

...

The psychologist spoke with Midoriya alone first of course, but Iida was standing ready the minute he exited the room. "Sensei, may I please ask you - what should I do? Is it good for Midoriya for me to continue to see him?"

"Come along son, we'd better step out of the hall." The psychologist waved Iida into something like a break room and sat down, bidding Iida to do the same. "So - as I hear, you've been exceptionally devoted to this case - of course, so much help is a great help to Midoriya. However, he's using you to escape his own thoughts - which may have been rather helpful in the first few weeks while the trauma was fresh and too much to handle, but as time goes on, he can't bottle up his feelings forever. He needs to come to grips with the memories that he has.

"Avoidance is _not_ a coping mechanism, it's procrastination, and often times at a certain point dealing with the emotions becomes harder rather than easier, just because you get so used to putting them off and pretending they're not there, but that denial just transforms the emotions into something less obvious - like bursts of anger, panic attacks, emotional detachment, depression and so on.

"I suspect this was something along those lines - because his attacker was a childhood friend, it's not uncommon to feel strong guilt - guilt has become one of his key emotions, and he's trying to ignore his feelings about the incident, so his guilt is leaking out to where ever he can justify putting it - guilt about holding you back, as he put it. Not to say that he doesn't actually feel guilty for that reason as well, but there's a lot of other guilt he's adding on to it as well.

"So - it's not good for Midoriya to keep on seeing you the way you have been. But... if you were able to get him to talk through his trauma with you, and his feelings about that trauma - that would help him immensely. It would be far more harrowing. I can completely understand if you can't commit yourself any more than you have been doing - it's frankly unreasonable for any one other than a parent of a significant other to do what you have. But, since you're asking, I'm just telling you - that's the basic path his future ought to move in."

"Yes, that all makes perfect sense. Thank you very much for your help, sensei. I'll do my best to continue helping Midoriya as best as I can."

"Well, bless you, son. Just remember, his reliance on you is avoidance. If he wants you to make a decision for him or think for him, it's so that he doesn't have to do it himself. Don't let him get away with that. I think there's a book you might find helpful as well, here I'll write the title down for you."

...

"Iida, you're still here?" Midoriya sounded slightly shocked and looked deeply embarrassed.

"Yes. I talked with the psychologist as well and confirmed what this made me realize. I've been helping you run away - and I'm sorry for that. I won't any more."

_He's going to leave..._ _of course he would after I said I did this for him. Well... at least finally he won't have to worry about me any more_.

"I want to help you face it, Midoriya. I want you to talk to me about it. Will you?"

Iida had pretty amazing way of always one-upping Midoriya's expectations. And whenever he did, Midoriya burst into touched tears. "How can you... why are you so nice to me...?"

Iida always found it difficult to find the best answer to that question. "Because I really do care about you... and I know you'll get through this, especially if we work together." It was difficult to hug some one sitting on a bed, but Iida did his best.

Midorya latched onto his waist. _I never would have known how much Iida cares if this hadn't happened... _"Iida... you're really... my _hero_..." No other word was more appropriate for the lengths Iida was willing to go to save him.

You wouldn't expect the word 'hero' to send a pack of butterflies flying in Iida's stomach, considering the way the word got tossed around in this society all the time, but something about what 'hero' meant to Midoriya specifically and the way he said 'my'... but Iida quickly weighed himself back down to earth with important considerations.

"I can only imagine how hard it's going to be for you. I hope... you can forgive me for trying to push you sometimes."

"You're doing everything to help me, Iida. I owe it to you to do my best, too." He didn't exactly feel hopeful - in fact he was pretty unsure that he would be able to do this, but... he at least genuinely intended to try. It was the least he could do in return.

Tomorrow, the real work would begin.

* * *

End chapter 5.

A/N: Hopefully the concepts didn't get _too_ repetitive in here : T Welp, practice makes perfect. If you have any thoughts, please share. I wonder if there's actually any one out there who will be interested in my psychologist ranting for 4 paragraphs. lol *shrugs* I likes what I likes.


	6. First Step: Acceptance

Iida had elected to take the train today to buy him a little more time to cram in some reading from the book the psychologist had suggested. Thankfully the bottom line was simple - his goal was to listen. But then the rest of the book attempted to outline when to 'offer a reality check' (how to identify self destructive beliefs and talk the victim out of them) and how to coax an unwilling victim to talk. As they were all kind of situational guides, it was difficult to say what exactly might be useful.

Of course it had occurred to him that this seemed a bit foolhardy - Midoriya had been talking to therapists with years of experience and study devoted to dealing with this with little to no progress, how on earth was a plebeian like himself supposed to do any better? But the psychologist had suggested this himself, so surely there was some merit to it... perhaps his strong personal bond with Midoriya was that powerful of an advantage.

Sooner than he felt ready, he was in his usual chair again. They exchanged niceties but quickly moved to the meat of the issue. "So... shall we start?"

Midoriya nodded. "Alright then... first I just want you to tell me exactly what happened."

"Right... well... when I saved Kacchan on the mission that day, in front of every one else... he really hated that. When we got sent back to U.A., we were both sent to recovery girl - she took care of him first and he stormed off to the dormitory when she was done, even though she told him he should stay in the infirmary - he wouldn't listen. I wasn't hurt as badly, so I went back to my room to rest. I was lying on my bed when Kacchan kicked the door in." Iida could tell all of this was very practiced. "I've never seen him so angry... he started destroying everything. When there was nothing left, he came to me - he grabbed me by the wrists and burned them,"

"Why didn't you fight him? You didn't use your left arm during the fight earlier so I know it wasn't shattered." Iida couldn't help from interjecting.

"... I have a hard time standing up to Kacchan. I guess I'm used to being helpless, and... I always told myself he didn't really mean it. I wanted to believe he was good. If I never complained about what he was doing, it was never officially a problem - he never did anything wrong." A quick glance at Iida and Midoriya could see he looked like he was about to shout. "I-I know that that's not true, I do. It's just... a bad habit I guess." Still Iida's fists looked like they were clenched painfully tight.

"...I see. Please... continue." Suddenly he realized the greatest challenge of listening to Midoriya's account would be resisting the urge go vigilante and end Katsuki Bakugo's life himself.

"... ... ... burning me wasn't satisfying I think, so he tried something new... he started choking me-"

" 'New'? So you mean... he's burned you before...?" Iida had to admit he was being a poor listener but he couldn't stop himself. Midoriya didn't mind all the interruptions either, they broke the usual pattern that threatened to lead him into a trance.

"No. I mean... ...yes." It was hard to admit to after years of burying the abuse, but there was no sense in hiding it any more.

"When?"

"Since we started school at U.A..." Midoriya mumbled very quietly. He had a feeling Iida had wanted to know exactly that - if this had been going on right underneath his nose. "...he never saw me as a threat before, he used to just say terrible things to me - but once he saw my quirk I guess he decided it was okay to use his on me... to... prove that he had control over me."

_If any of us had noticed... maybe we could have stopped this..._ Iida's head was screaming at him. _**You**__ should have noticed as his friend._ He reasoned that Midoriya was purposely hiding it to protect his attacker, he wouldn't have allowed it to be found - but the sentiment stubbornly lingered. "I'm sorry I didn't notice..."

As he suspected, Midoriya wistfully shook his head. "You couldn't have. I only have myself to blame for that."

"No - you have Bakugo to blame." Midoriya nodded but his gaze was vacant. "You don't believe that, do you?"

"...if I had stopped him sooner... Kacchan wouldn't be in jail right now. I never made it clear enough that he should stop." Iida grabbed Midoriya by the shoulders. It was just too much that after everything - he was considering Bakugo's well being, even now.

"He should have known to never do such a thing in the first place! He's supposed to be a hero, he's -" Iida suddenly realized he was shaking Midoriya a little bit. He steadied himself, but nothing could steady the rage growing inside. Perhaps his emotional investment in Midoriya was also his greatest weakness as a confidant. "I apologize for my outburst...but not reporting something doesn't make it your fault. Of course, I never ever want you to allow any one to treat you like that again, but ultimately it's the fault of the person committing the wrong doing. Okay?"

Midoriya couldn't help but smile a little. On the contrary to Iida's misgivings, he felt it was a lot more impactful and reassuring to have some one he loved half yelling for his sake than the customary clinical drawl or endless leading questions. If there was one thing Midoriya really responded to and admired, it was passion after all. "Okay," he finally nodded with some amount of conviction.

"Now... You said he started choking you."

"Yes... ... ... after that, he... found my journal." Even Iida got the sense that Midoriya hadn't recounted that before - each syllable sounded like a struggle, and his hands were trembling. Iida hurriedly wove his fingers betwixt Midoriya's for support.

_"Kacchan, what are you saying?" Midoriya couldn't believe what he had just heard - or what he was seeing. It was too surreal. None of it made any sense. "No, I won't..."_

_Bakugo lazily opened the journal in one hand and slowly tore a random page down the middle with the other._

_"S-Stop!" Bakugo raised an expectant eyebrow and dropped the nearly separated page half back into place. He pointedly stepped back next to the edge of the bed right in front of Midoriya and held his erection - not that it needed help standing, but to bring attention back to it. Tears started forming in Midoriya's eyes. "I don't understand why you're doing this..." Sex and violence didn't belong any where near each other in Midoriya's innocent mind. He couldn't even fathom mingling the two._

_Impatient with trying to get Midoriya to obey, Bakugo grabbed him by the hair and forced the little wimp's face into his crotch. "__**Open up.**__" He commanded. The impertinent brat refused. To Midoriya's surprise - Bakugo let go. He dared to look up. "If you tell me something, I'll let you go."_

"_Wha-" Bakugo immediately shoved Midoriya's open mouth down over his cock and groaned in satisfaction._

"_You __**idiot.**__" At first Midoriya tried to clamp his mouth down as hard as he could without biting (he didn't want to hurt Bakugo) but rather than make it harder to push in, that just seemed to make it more enjoyable. So then he tried to open his mouth as wide as he could and deny the sensation of his tongue and lips - except that then Bakugo just thrusted into the far back of his throat that couldn't be loosened (and convulsed most pleasurably as he gagged). Needing to gag and not being able to properly because something kept on being shoved in your throat was indescribably terrible, so he closed down tight again and whimpered miserably._

_"Look at you lapping it up like a good little slut. You wanted this, didn't you Deku?" Midoriya gave a little extra push-back against Bakugo's hand on his head but quickly surrendered - the harder he resisted, the more viciously Bakugo pulled on his hair and drove into his mouth. If he laid over and let it happen, the sooner it would be over - that had always been his philosophy with Bakugo._

_It seemed to last an eternity, as though he was trapped in some kind of purgatory. Trails of saliva dribbled down his corrupted chin. Of course he had felt greater pains, but... the violation and helplessness was so much worse. Still, he pleaded with himself that this was surely it - after this, Bakugo would be satisfied. He just needed to last..._

_Then suddenly it stopped. Bakugo withdrew. It was finally over. He shuddered in a pathetic heap on the bed, weeping unabashedly - absolutely no energy left to watch his attacker leave. He just let his face sink into the sullied spit stained sheets below him... which is why he wasn't even able to react by the time Bakugo ripped his pants down and took him from behind._

_Midoriya's frenzied screams echoed through the complacent building. "STOP!" For the first time he started actually trying to wrestle free, bucking wildly with all of his strength - but his right arm and legs were still weak with recovery and Bakugo had him neatly pinned from above. "Who's the helpless one now, huh?"_

_"KACCHAN, PLEASE, STOP! I DON'T WANT THIS! YOU'RE HURTING ME!" His head was getting dizzy from all the yelling. He wished with all his might that some one would hear him, but he knew no one else was here. No one could save him._

_"You're __**nothing**__ compared to me. You're just my little whore." All he could feel was Bakugo's steady length pumping in and out of him - a massive girdth in a far too small hole - and despite himself, an unbidden pleasure rising in his loins as the tip of Bakugo's head stroked against his prostate. How dare his own body betray him like this. Every thing was being taken from him - his virginity, his confidence, his sanity - even control of his own body. He felt it all slipping away with each thrust. Agonized cries gradually morphed into tortured moans - the kind sadists' dreams are made of._

_Bakugo flipped Midoriya on his back. He was no longer in a completely vulnerable position, but the hot head could tell that he had given in by this point - Bakugo had already taken everything, there was nothing left to protect - and he desperately wanted to see Midoriya's face while he fucked him. It was worth the risk. Whenever Midoriya had stored enough energy he would disjointedly try to kick free, shove away or beat Bakugo's back with a feebly defiant fist - all it managed to accomplish was a greater sense of control for Bakugo. "You're mine, Deku. I'm the first to plant myself inside of you, so this part of you will always be mine too. Any time you feel this, you're going to think of me." He took hungry possessive bites at Midoriya's already lesioned neck and collarbone._

_Finally his balls were nearly getting sore from the prolonged stimulation, so he lifted Midoriya's hips for greater purchase and sped to a merciless pummel. Midoriya tipped into orgasm first, rapidly gasping and whining with unwilling rapture. The convulsing, massaging walls of his passage brought Bakugo shortly behind - shooting hot venomous seed into Midoriya's deepest chasm - planting just as he had promised. As he pulled out he decided to leave a finishing touch - using his quirk to activate the line of semen trailing out of Midoriya, he claimed Midoriya in one final way that only he could. Marking him with burns from the inside.  
_

_He didn't even bother to close the door when he left._

* * *

End chapter 6.


	7. Recovery

"He said he would destroy it if I didn't... do what he wanted. He... wanted me to suck..." his voice went hoarse and he neither could nor wanted to finish his sentence. Suddenly he realized exactly how much he didn't want Iida to hear any of this - to know exactly how much he had been ruined. But that wasn't what Iida wanted... he wanted to hear it - he said it would help. The doctor's said it would help, too. If he didn't cooperate, he would be wasting every one's efforts and time. _I have to push forward. _ In the end he cared more about inconveniencing every one than his image in Iida's eyes.

"I-I didn't. I couldn't even understand what he was doing. But he tricked me into opening my mouth and put it inside." Even now Iida could see the muscles in his throat twitching at the thought. For a moment Midoriya pulled his hands up in front of his mouth and Iida suspected he was fighting the urge to vomit. His eyes started to glaze over and his breathing started to stagger in a staccato of jagged exhales and hissing gasps. He was falling into his memories.

Iida quickly took a gentle yet firm hold of the side of Midoriya's face and guided him to lock their eyes together. "Midoriya, you're here with me. What happened is in the past. You're in control now. You're just telling me what happened. You're safe now." He prayed his delivery was correct and searched for comprehension in those emerald orbs. After a heart stopping pause, Midoriya came back to him. Cognizance and tears resurfaced in his eyes at once. "Iida-kun, please- I don't want to go any further-"

Of course Iida had no desire to continue either - it all made him sick to his stomach - but it had to be done. "...I won't force you to do anything. But getting the words out will help, I promise. Keeping it all inside just gives it more power over you." Even as he said it he hated the role he had to play.

_He expects so much of me. _Self-pity tried to rear its ugly head, but Midoriya wouldn't allow it. _But I can't disappoint him._ Midoriya resolved to use his tried and mostly-true technique of focusing intensely on a physical detail - he picked the deep navy strands of Iida's hair. Midoriya was thankful (and not for the first time) that Iida was just about the polar opposite of Bakugo - polite, reserved, neat, tall, kind, a nice soothing blue... it was almost definitely what made him so easy for Midoriya to trust in those first few days. He spent so long tethering to this in fact that Iida wasn't expecting him to start talking again.

"When he finally pulled out of my mouth I thought he was done, so I just lay there... but then he got on top of me from behind and... started raping me." It was a bizarre experience. He was squeezing Iida's hand nearly as hard as he could. He could see the events playing crystal clear in his minds eye, but so long as he stayed focused on Iida's navy blue he could keep them from taking over. As long as he felt Iida's hand wrapped in his, he could distinguish between memory and reality. Barely. "I-I actually tried to fight him this time - I r-really tried to get away, but I was too weak. I was completely helpless... I couldn't... ... ...i-i-it felt like being s-stabbed... over and over... ...and I..." his voice pushed into a new level of distress. "He made me come, but I swear I didn't want it... really... it hurt... I never want to feel it again..."

Iida sensed a need for reassurance. "I believe you! Of course you didn't..." He edged as close as he could and pulled a perfectly willing Midoriya to rest against his chest while he sobbed somewhat hysterically. "You did so well, telling me everything... thank you."

Midoriya was actually really surprised that he did feel a little bit better (he knew every one had been telling him it would be, but he just couldn't see how until now) - he'd admitted the whole terrible truth and Iida was still here - not disgusted or disappointed like he inexplicably had been convinced he would be - the very opposite, in fact - he was pulling him closer. The haunting scene fizzled out of his mind - for the very first time defeated.

...

"I'm supposed to be a hero, but I let this happen to me... I can't protect any one if I can't even protect myself."

"Of course you're a hero! You saved him earlier that day! He abused your trust and chose one of your most vulnerable moments. Sometimes villains get the upper hand just by virtue of being unpredictable liars. They have all the time to prepare and we have a split second to react. My oni-san was an A class hero and even he couldn't save himself from Stain."

"That...! ...what happened to your brother is truly terrible. Next to that... my body is perfectly fine. There's nothing really wrong with me... so I have no right to be so upset...!"

"That's not true! He attacked your security, your pride - your mind was his main target. If you have no desire to do anything, it doesn't matter what your body is capable of."

"Th-then.. he did it - he broke me! I can't be alone, I can hardly trust any one, I can't stand the sight of fire, I can never enjoy intimacy, I can't even look at a sunset! Some one with all these weaknesses has no hope of ever being a hero."

"You're **not** broken. You've been injured, but you're going to recover. He'll never touch you again. I won't let him. **You** won't let him - right? He'll never be allowed near you, and even if you did see him - you'd be ready to defend yourself - he won't have surprise and manipulation on his side any more. That's the only reason he was able to do that to you. Your subconscious is associating all those factors with the memory so strongly because it wants warning signs to make sure it never happens again - but your conscious has better warning signs - so you don't need to hang on to those associations. That makes sense, right?"

"...yes, Iida-kun."

"Good. The psychologist suggested we start trying exposure therapy - where you'll be introduced to your triggering factors, but in a safe place - and as you see them and nothing bad happens to you, they'll stop triggering you. Does that sound alright?"

"Only while you're here?"

"Of course."

...

There was a little open bridge walkway between two towers of the hospital - the entrances to it weren't very obvious and the open air made it against code to transport any patients or equipment across it, so it was generally undisturbed - save for a particular pair of teenage boys every sun down lately. It had an excellent view and quite a lot of plants - it honestly didn't feel like a part of the hospital at all any more - and that was something Midoriya enjoyed almost as much as the company he was with.

Suddenly he was hit with a thought - as he stared straight into the serene orange glow, taking calm steady breaths and holding a hand that he knew he didn't need but wanted any way. He realized - not unlike that one night when he realized that Iida's presence was just as effective when he was sleeping - how strange it was that he continued to feel comforted by the navette even as he made it his job to drag Midoriya out of all of his comfort zones. All for his own sake, of course - but still, wasn't it bizarre to hold absolutely no spite or misgivings for some one that had been parading all of his greatest fears about him?

But so it was - all he felt was fondness and gratitude. With Iida's constant battling against his self doubt and with each successful exposure, hope returned. In fact, every day the next step felt easier. He could look through his journal without pause, he was no longer afraid of every stranger in the hall, he'd even started working out again and watching the news. Not to mention these sunset trysts were becoming the highlight of his day. _All thanks to my hero..._ a blush crept across his cheeks, conveniently masked by the warm hues of the sky. He'd taken to calling Iida that in his head. And every time Iida tried to wane away from the copious amounts of physical contact that had become normal between them, Midoriya clung on - usually not because he was afraid any more, but because... he found himself craving it. Iida never pushed it either.

"Iida... thank you." Midoriya found himself saying that every time the conversation came to a lull. It almost felt silly, but he just always felt like it needed to be said. Or maybe right now it was to stop whatever else wanted to come out of his mouth.

"You don't need to thank me." The response came almost like a reflex.

"I do. You've done so much for me... I wish there were something I could do for you..."

Iida turned to look at his nest-headed best friend. "Seeing your smile is its own reward. You don't owe me anything."

It was sweet nothings like that that kept Midoriya's heart singing. "S-Still..." The shorter boy flushed a deep scarlet. _He won't ask me for anything. I'll have to think of something... or so many things - no one thing could ever repay him._ A corner of his mind that he refused to give voice to just yet wished for some of those things to be chaste kisses and warm embraces. "O-Oh! My mom is coming to see me today! She might be back at the room wondering where I am right now-"

They raced through the hospital corridors and made it back to indeed find Inko in her signature pink sweater talking to the supervising physician in Midoriya's room. "Oh, Izuku, there you are. You look so healthy today!" She immediately pulled him into a mildly suffocating hug. "Good evening to you too, Iida-san. Thank you for taking care such good care of my Izuku! The doctor's been telling me - we were just talking about how well he's doing."

"It's true - you've been doing so well in fact we were just discussing... it's probably time to discharge you from the hospital, Midoriya."

"It is?" Midoriya was dumbfounded and a little overwhelmed. He was doing better but he wasn't fully recovered - he certainly wasn't ready to just go back to regular. And most of all it dawned on him - what would happen to his visits with Iida?

"Well, you definitely want to send him to a new school, going back to the place of the attack is completely out of the question - it's taken this long to overcome minimal triggers."

_A new school?_

"Yes, of course. I've even been considering home schooling him..."

"That could work as well, though then you'll just want to find opportunities to socialize him as well."

Midoriya's world was crashing in around him. He hadn't even thought - he was just starting to feel normal again, and Iida had always kept on talking like he would go back to U.A. - of course he had no hope for that at first, but as Iida had kept on saying it, he had just gradually started to believe... of course he should have realized that was unrealistic. Of course the doctors were right. And that meant...

"Excuse me, Mrs. Midoriya."

"Yes? What is it Iida-san?"

"I understand that you want to protect Midoriya, however... what kind of life will he be living if you take away the dream he's been fighting so hard for, all this time? Don't you think changing his course because of what happened says that we don't have confidence in him to overcome it? Midoriya is a hero by nature - if you force him into any other life, you threaten to change him as a person. And what exactly is it that we're trying to protect if not who he is?"

The room was startled into silence by his brazen exclamations - he, a teenage boy not even of notable relation to the Midoriya family was contending the wisdom of his friend's own mother and a doctor with years of practice - yet still, neither felt justified in completely dismissing the opinion of one so deeply invested and whose words rang with so much truth.

"Even so, Iida - Midoriya is in his best condition when you're around. His progress isn't quite as solid the rest of the time. I know from your perspective he must seem ready, but I just don't think he's there yet without your support yet." The doctor shook his head.

"Then he will have my constant support until that time comes."

"Iida-kun..." Midoriya's glistening eyes were fixated on Iida in speechless awe.

The doctor stirred as though he wanted to speak, but settled on watching with a calculating expression. Instead, Inko piped up. "That's incredibly generous of you Iida-san, but there's no way we can accept that."

"...I-I'd like that very much." Midoriya breathlessly stuttered.

"B-But Izuku... being with you constantly - that's unrealistic! Even I wouldn't be able to!"

"I've come to see Midoriya every day for the last month. You can trust my word."

Inko glanced back and forth between the boys as though looking for another rebuttal, but all she saw was a rekindled joy that had been missing from her baby's face for months. "Oh Izuku... if that's what would make you happy..." His mother started to pour the Midoriya signature tears.

"Thank you, mom. And Iida... thank you so much...!" The two greenettes sobbed in unison.

* * *

End chapter 7.

A/N: Sorry for being pretty vague and jumping through time here, this section of the story is just really refusing to be fleshed out nicely. The therapy Midoriya needs is reeaaaally slow and repetitive - hopefully I haven't skipped and condensed so much that it's become too unbelievable or non-cohesive.

In response to my one guest reviewer (if you're still here) - not sure how to take that exactly but thanks for reading - sorry if the recollection scene was a bit too dark. I guess I'll clarify that the part about messed up stuff that draws me in is the pained psyche of the victim - not the traumatizing event itself (though that's pretty necessary to getting to the heart of their issues). Maybe it's a twisted evolution of the instinct to help those in need? As much as I'm interested in the victim's pain I would never want to be the one to cause it - in fact, my fantasy would be about helping them, or getting revenge on their attacker (not a good thing either I'm sure, but a little less concerning?). Guess that explains a lot about this fic - hope that convinces you that I'm not some kind of psychopath. XD But I guess on the other side of that coin, to any one that thrives on just the darker aspects... sorry, things just get fluffier from here on out.


	8. Back To School

"Your attention please, everyone! Before we begin class today, I would like to make an announcement. Tomorrow, Izuku Midoriya will be returning to U.A. His experience has taken a severe toll on his psyche, so under no circumstances are any of you to ask any prying questions!"

"But if he's that delicate right now, how does he expect to become a hero?" It was always Kirishima, wasn't it? Being ex-friend of Bakugo already made him public enemy #1 - seemed he would live up to his reputation.

"Midoriya has shown nothing but strength and unlimited compassion despite the adversity he's had to suffer through. If you're saying you think you could do any better after such a trauma, I won't stop you from proving it." Iida's tone was positively frigid. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, masking the murderous look in his eyes with reflected light.

"Whoa, chill out dude - I didn't mean it like that." Seemed Kirishima was perfectly willing to back down.

"That's exactly the lack of sensitivity I'm warning you against! To be taken against your will... one struggles with intense feelings of self doubt and a loss of trust in the entire world. The core of Midoriya's heroic personality has always been placing the needs of others so far before himself... the fact that this has remained unchanged despite his good nature being taken advantage of in the most despicable way possible - this is how I know Midoriya will make a full recovery, and why there is not a doubt in my mind that he belongs in this class! All I ask from you is that you offer him your support as you would with any of the other injuries he's sustained this year - let him know that we all stand by him as heroes and believe in him!" There was an undeniably inspired feeling coursing through the class's veins as Iida finished his speech. No one moved a muscle, but you could some how tell they were all on board.

_And there it is again. The undeniable effects Midoriya has on this class, even when he hasn't been here for 2 months. His ability to foster this web of support... kind of incredible. Glad All Might didn't give up on him after all. _Aizawa mused from the corner, forgetting to cut Iida short and start class already.

"He has my full support." Todoroki was the first to speak.

"Yeah, I'm pumped! We're getting Midoriya back!" Ashido fist pumped.

"Our beautiful friendships are sure to cure his weary soul," Aoyama said in his usual vaguely creepy manner.

The rest cheered and nodded in agreement.

Iida breathed a little easier. "Thank you, everyone," then remembered an important caveat. "And one more thing... no one is to call him Deku!"

Uraraka - who had been extra quiet - knew exactly why, but felt a strange sense of loss. Of course, she had ever since she first heard what had happened. Ever since then she felt that Midoriya would never be the same. For some reason it was like not being able to call him the same thing solidified that. It would all be different now...

...

"Are you ready, Midoriya?" The sun was only just barely peeking out. Iida had come to pick Midoriya up from the hospital with enough time to get back for the first class. Midoriya picked up his sole box of remaining belongings (comprised entirely of notes and books).

"I think so." Of course he had frequently longed to be free of this medical prison, to regain the confidence of an independent life and at least try to contribute to society again - but with those hopes came the fear of utter failure. "I'll be honest Iida... I'm really nervous."

"Everything will be fine." Iida reassured, and leaned in close, taking the box from Midoriya and tucking it under one well toned arm - offering the other for Midoriya to take a hold of. "You won't have to wait for me any more. I'll be right with you."

"Y-Yeah." Midoriya swooned, eagerly wrapping himself around said arm. He had no idea if Iida had intended for it to, but that one promise melted all of his immediate fears away. Suddenly it became incredibly easy to just follow where ever Iida was leading him without really caring about the destination. He had been worried that Iida wouldn't want to touch him so much outside of the confines of the hospital where his need was socially acceptable - but all the way to the classroom door, Iida let him hold on. From there, he admitted it was time 'to stand on his own two feet.

"Midoriya!" Several people yelled from all corners of the room as he entered.

Uraraka shuffled up and then launched into what seemed like a 'leap of faith' hug. "It's so good to see you! ...I'm sorry I didn't come to visit..." She couldn't stop the guilt from seeping out. She knew she only had herself to blame for not going to see him the many, MANY times Iida had urged her to come along... but she just couldn't bear to see Deku in that state, and the longer she didn't come, the harder it became to gather the will to go. Forcing herself to act normal now and take the familiar action of a hug she felt she didn't deserve... it was a bold step to try and bridge the gap she'd created.

"H-Hey, it's okay. Not really a lot going on in the hospital any way, you were doing something much more important. So I'm glad." Another pang of guilt hit as she noted the very likely misunderstanding that she had been spending most of those missed visits helping her family... a misunderstanding which admittedly she had sown with an exaggeration and never bothered to correct as it grew. She lost the nerve to come up with a falsely cheery response and sort of let herself fade to the background as a few others pushed forward to say hello.

"This class hasn't been the same without you, you know, ribbet."

"It's not all bad - you got out of some pretty rough assignments." Kaminari leveled.

"You've got a lot of catching up to do, Midoriya." Minneta sounded grossly smug - probably at the prospect of looking good in comparison to some one at such a disadvantage.

Even Kirishima gave an encouraging "Nice to have you back."

Todoroki, despite being the first to voice support yesterday stayed firmly planted in his seat the whole time, avoiding eye contact and to those accustomed to his suble expressions - looking uncomfortably sullen. Of course he wanted to go say something. But the results of his last attempt kept him bound where he figured he couldn't do any harm.

Midoriya was of course flattered by every one's enthusiasm, but starting to feel a little overwhelmed by the small crowd around him. "Alright every one - class is starting soon. Back in your seats." Iida commanded. They were much more compliant than usual.

Almost as soon as Midoriya moved to his seat his eyes wandered to the desk in front of his - _Kacchan's seat..._ but before he could dwell on it for too long, he noticed Iida setting his backpack down on it. They exchanged a meaningful glance and Midoriya knew - Iida had predicted that Bakugo's empty seat would bother him, so he was taking it. He felt yet another surge of appreciation at the lengths of consideration his hero had for him.

"Midoriya. You've been playing catch up since day one, so you're used to this by now, but I expect you to try harder than ever now. I assure you it's a very special chance that you're being allowed to continue despite missing two months of instruction, so make the most of it." Aizawa's uncompromising teaching style apparently wouldn't budge for Midoriya's circumstances. In some ways that seemed just as it should be, though.

"Y-Yes sir!"

...

Eight hours of study and training later, every one was dispersing across campus. Midoriya and Iida walked together. "How was it today?"

"Good! Good to be busy. And... to have you with me." Midoriya hinted ever so slightly.

"I'm glad. Everyone behaved themselves, right?"

"Behaved themselves?" Midoriya kind of laughed as he said it. Something about the question was funny - like Iida considered himself everybody's baby-sitter. It was even more of an absurd question because he hadn't been out of earshot of Midoriya's conversations for more than an hour total the whole day.

"I told them to be thoughtful, but frankly some of them are a bit tactless." Iida reprimanded.

Midoriya flushed with embarrassment at the thought of Iida making such a big deal for him in front of everyone. "Everyone was good to me. Iida, I think you might be coddling me a little too much. Just being close to you is fine."

"It's a simple courtesy that takes nothing more than a small amount of effort on their part!" It was cute how worked up he could get over simple things.

But all the warm thoughts fleeted out of Midoriya's mind as he looked ahead and realized they were headed straight for the dorms... the place it had happened. He froze in place. Iida only took one step ahead before realizing Midoriya had stopped. Quickly he moved between Midoriya and the building and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Midoriya, are you alright?"

_It's just a building. He's not here. He's in prison. It's just a building._

"You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. We can go as slowly as you like."

"It's just a building..." Midoriya tried to say his chant out loud, but tears were forming in the corners of his eyes and his voice wavered like a wounded animal.

"How about we get something at the cafeteria first?"

Midoriya gulped. "I'm going to have to come back here again though, aren't I?"

It was true, but he also obviously wasn't ready just yet. Not that a few hours would make the difference, would it? Iida mentally flailed for an answer. "I know! Follow me." Iida took Midoriya's hand and steered him in an arc to a side entrance. "Is this better?"

"I've never been in this way before." He didn't even know this entrance existed - the dorms were so large though it didn't come as a surprise that there were several parts he hadn't explored.

"I thought maybe you hadn't. It can be like a different place when you come at it from a different angle, right?" So far it seemed to be working. Midoriya was quiet but following. But as they converged with Midoriya's usual path at the base of the stairs to the boy's dorms it suddenly came crashing down on him.

"Iida, I can't!" It looked like his knees were threatening to buckle underneath him.

"Close your eyes. It's alright. I'm right here." Iida pulled him into a firm embrace. "I won't allow any one to harm you. Is this better with your eyes closed?" The smaller boy simply sniffled and nodded. "All you have to do is follow me." It was a challenge with the stairs, but Midoriya used his free hand to hang on to the railing. It would have been much easier to just carry him, but through the course of their therapy, Iida knew how important it was for Midoriya to take steps for himself.

He froze up again. "I don't think I can go inside that room again...!"

"It's alright, you're not going to the same room. " Midoriya didn't even have enough room in his head to process that - it was completely full with the battle. He pushed himself forward, now sobbing openly. "You're doing so well Midoriya, we're almost there. Just a few steps more." Midoriya could hear the latch of a door opening and took the final tread inside. Iida caught him in his arms. "You've done it. We're here! You can open your eyes now."

It took a minute - his eyes were blurry with tears any way. When he finally calmed down enough to look around, he saw a familiar navy curtain, bed cover and shelf lined with immaculately ordered books. "Isn't this... your room?"

"Yes - I... well, I thought, the closer the better and, um..." Now that Midoriya said it in that questioning tone, he suddenly wondered if it wasn't appropriate. He just thought that it would be obvious so share a room, he _had_ said they'd be together _constantly_. The pit of his stomach fell. "You have a separate bed of course - it's right behind-"

"Thank you!" Midoriya was already hugging him, but gave a squeeze and buried his face in his chest.

He let out a relieved sigh of air he didn't even realize he'd been holding in. A small patch of pink lit up the class rep's cheeks, if only Midoriya had been looking up to notice it. "It's the least I can do."

* * *

End chapter 8.

A/N: By the way, thanks so much to all that are following this fic! I'm really relieved (I think is the best word) to see that any one is finding some level of enjoyment or interest in the same ideas as me.

In regards to my second lovely review from robinsonuriah2: Yes.

Speaking of Bakugo - that has me kind of curious. As you can tell, I'm not the biggest fan of his character. I mean, when you start some one off unapologetically telling the main character to kill himself I for one have no hope for his redemption - even though that's definitely where the manga author is headed with him now - trying to make him out as a good guy that just doesn't know how to express himself nicely... I don't care how foul mouthed you are, you just don't tell some one as nice as Midoriya to kill himself, show no remorse and still be considered hero material. If he can say that with zero hesitation I'm pretty sure the rest of his moral compass would be equally twisted.

I'd be very curious to know if the rest of every one reading felt kind of similarly and that's why you're not turned off by this plot? Or if you're at least on the fence - you can see my point of view, but you like the cannon portrayal of Bakugo as good?


	9. Unspoken Attractions

Midoriya had really gotten back into the fold fairly seamlessly - with Iida around he was able to keep himself together almost perfectly in class. The preoccupation was doing wonders. His greatest obstacle in the field was fire. Back in the hospital they had been able to work on conditioning him to small controlled flames, not wild open ones.

Yesterday's practice pitted Todoroki against him - he reverted to using nothing but his ice. Aizawa berated them both in the critique - Todoroki refused to comment on his choice. Midoriya fretted meekly about whether he was actually holding back for Midoriya's sake or if there had been some development with Todoroki's family while he was in the hospital. He couldn't work up the courage to ask - ever since their encounter in the hospital - Midoriya coudn't help but feel like he had offended Todoroki. After all, he had been avoiding Midoriya in classes ever since he got back.

Finally the thought was weighing on him too heavily. After their last class for the day, Midoriya nervously fiddled as Iida finished packing his notes and turned to face him. "U-Umm... Iida. I'm sorry but... I have a favor to ask of you."

Midoriya hadn't _asked_ for anything for the longest time - he was obviously so concerned about overbearing - Iida's interest was immediately piqued. "Of course - how can I help?"

"It's Todoroki... I... I really want to know how he's doing, but it seems like he doesn't want to talk to me. The way he was using just his ice yesterday... I just want to make sure it's not because of any thing new with his dad. Could you please see if he's okay?"

How could he refuse those puppy eyes? "I'll do it right away. I'll meet you outside." Todoroki had hurried out as quickly as he could so Iida dashed out to catch up. "Todoroki - please wait!"

Todoroki immediately noted the absence of Midoriya with him. "What is it?"

"You know I don't have the most time, but... I was hoping we could talk for a moment." He gestured with his eyes to an empty classroom they were coming up on, away from the traffic of the hallway. Iida closed the door after them. "Midoriya is worried about you. In regards to yesterday - he was afraid something might have happened to make you stop using your fire again."

A light lit in Todoroki's eyes. "...I see." He took a long pause, apparently juggling quite a few considerations. "I care about Midoriya just as much as you, you know. I tried to visit him at the hospital, but... he said my fire reminded him of Bakugou. That's why there's no way I could possibly use it against him." He balled his fists until his nails bit into his palms. "Izuku Midoriya, the one who helped me embrace my rejected half... now I can't get near him because of it. Fire truly is a cursed quirk." He was shaking a little bit. It was clear holding it all in had taken a toll on him. "You love him too, don't you?"

"L-Love him?" The accusation snapped him out of the sympathetic reverie he had been in.

"I've seen the way you hold his hand and guide him to your room." Todoroki's voice was pained.

"Th-That's because-"

"Save your excuse. You've already insulted my feelings, don't insult my intelligence.

...he really trusts you. I want him to be happy. ...will you take care of him?"

"Of course I will, I'm already doing my best."

"...you're just dense, aren't you? I see. What I mean is - Midoriya clearly sees this as a relationship. Do you? Or are you just going to let him go once he's 'better'? Will you stop showering him with attention and kindness as soon as he's decided he's okay?"

Even though getting Midoriya back to normal was his goal, he hadn't actually thought about what would change when that happened yet. He simply couldn't accept Todoroki's presumption about Midoriya's feelings, but there was something to be said for his own. He had gone far beyond the obligations of a friend - and even of his ideal of a hero, he admitted. What else could be driving him to these lengths _but _love? "I'm happy to give Midoriya anything he wants from me. I _do_ love him."

He was only certain of that last part in a platonic sense at the moment, but he he was trying to be respectful of his dichotic classmate's affections. He had a feeling any lesser declaration would offend him yet again. And a more subconscious element of his mind was eager to claim the prerogative he was being offered before Todoroki changed his mind. A lick of abhorrence at the thought of Todoroki in love with Midoriya shot through him as he considered it more - he was ashamed of himself and immediately tried to repress and deny it. But why would he care so much about discouraging Todoroki unless... he himself was coveting Midoriya?

"...alright. If you ever do anything to hurt him, you'll have _me_ to answer to." His eyes were full of a somewhat resentful envy. Had he wanted Iida to answer differently somehow...? Wasn't he the one who proposed this in the first place? It was so menacingly off-putting Iida took this as his cue to leave - but despite himself, his overwhelming sense of honor wouldn't let him leave the room without clarifying.

"You know... Midoriya is doing much better now. The more he's exposed to things, the more he overcomes them. I think your fire could be a good thing now... and he would be happy to have you as a friend again." He didn't dare overstay his welcome any more than that.

_Love... do I really...? _His feet carried him outside purely by muscle memory as he ruminated. As he focused on his opinions of his freckled friend he felt the usual admiration, a protectiveness for his shy and self sacrificing tendencies, and as he looked back on all of their time together these last few months outside of the perspective of his mission to help... a swarm of butterflies soared through his stomach. There was no denying their cause.

_But then... could he possibly also...?_ He started searching for clues in his memories. The constant touching, thank you's, prolonged gazes... but he shook the thought - none of those could be taken as signs, they were all the result of Midoriya's state. Even if Midoriya thought he had feelings, they may be completely from the bond of this recovery process. To accept them would be taking advantage of his vulnerability - completely out of the question. All of that would have to wait until this was behind them. As he came upon the greenette patiently waiting for him and his stomach did a small flip and tried to relay that everything was fine without revealing any of the real meat of the conversation he'd had - he wished dearly that it hadn't happened at all.

* * *

A familiar helpless cry woke Iida up. Barely conscious yet, he immediately got up and crossed the room to the source. No matter how much better Midoriya got during the day, he kept on having these nightly episodes semi-regularly. He reached down to cup Midoriya's cheek. "I'm here, Midoriya. You were dreaming, you're alright."

A quick punch connected with his jaw. The impact dislodged his glasses. It was only as they fell with a clack onto the thrashing boy that he came back to reality. The taller boy simply took the hit, not flinching an inch. "Iida...! I'm so sorry..."

Iida gingerly lowered himself beside Midoriya and pulled him into a consoling embrace. "You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault, Midoriya... it's not your fault at all."

"... ... ...when will these nightmares finally go away? Why can't I just get better?" He gushed with helpless frustration.

"I'm not sure, but... for as long as it takes, I'm here for you." Midoriya melted in Iida's arms in simultaneous ecstacy and torment. He loved to hear Iida say these things - he hated that they needed to be said. A theory was snowballing in his mind. It couldn't be a coincidence that he was only having these breakdowns at night, when he was alone with Iida behind closed doors - where he could be held and whispered to as much as he wanted. Indeed - he was afraid of exactly that - that somewhere in his subconscious he was enjoying playing the broken victim for this attention.

Speaking of that... this was the longest Iida had ever held him at a time. It felt like they'd been lying here for at least an hour - he was starting to go sore on one side but he daren't move a muscle, in case Iida took the opportunity to let go. The sensation of their bodies pressed neatly together was sending off fireworks of endorphins in his brain. The rise and fall of Iida's strong chest as he breathed... the fresh laundered smell of his shirt... Midoriya hated to admit how utterly elated the whole thing was making him.

Meanwhile, Iida was fighting a similar battle in his own mind, questioning his own intentions. Was he really doing the right thing, or was he just doing what he wanted to? He had an unplaceable feeling that Midoriya wanted this too - he couldn't even see him in the darkness to read his face or his body language, but... it was just one of those feelings that permeated the air.

_What on earth are you saying?! Listen to yourself - assuming on completely no basis that he feels the same way - you're no better than Bakugou! I shouldn't be doing this, I should let him go right now - or is holding him not the problem, but just these impure thoughts? But... I can't hold him without thinking them... but I don't want them to interfere with what I should do... oh God, what should I do..._

The pair lay together reluctantly enjoying the moment in guilty silence until they drifted back to sleep.

* * *

_**"He's being taken to the emergency room at Musutafu Medical. You were the only other person in this building for the last 3 hours. I suggest you tell us exactly what happened."**_

_Did I really hurt him that badly?_

_It was just stupid little burns, what do you mean he's being taken to the emergency room? Is he that fragile? Fuck, of course he's fragile - he's Deku. God damn it! Deku, this is all his fault! He made me... he made me do this, without him none of this would have happened... without him..._

_**"Katsuki Bakugou my idiot son, what the hell have you done?!"**_

_Shut up you stupid hag - like you're any better. Don't you turn around and act like I'm the monster here, I'm your son, damnit!_

_**"Some one with a record like this will never be allowed to get licensed as a hero - I hope you realize you just threw away your future. For what? Well, you'll have all the time in the world to figure out for yourself exactly where you went wrong."**_

It was true. Bakugou had never just been forced to look at himself as he had been the last couple of months - prohibited from using his quirk, no school work to keep him busy... there was no running from the man in the mirror.

He was immediately slammed with the diagnosis of a rampant superiority complex and told to suck it up. He had always been a golden boy - no matter how poorly he acted, the praise kept on coming and he never got in trouble. He had honestly started to believe the same rules didn't apply to him. Not to mention Midoriya had always gone out of his way to hide their abusive relationship - he had no reason to believe that day would go any differently. Now everything had completely flipped on its head.

There was one thing he found easy to come to terms with, at least. Nothing made him feel more _powerful_ than dominating Midoriya. His world was only right if Midoriya was weak against him. He was the measuring stick of Bakugou's pride. That's why he couldn't stand what happened earlier on that day... that's why he had to make it right by putting Deku back in his place. Underneath him. And that became the key to unraveling his tangled psyche.

_**"Why is power so important to you?"**_

_That's a stupid question. It's the whole point of everything._

But as the question was the only occupation he was left with for days, finally he started to explore it further. Because everyone had started expecting it of him... because he took it on as his own goal and purpose... he loved the shower of admiration. His need for that external gratification was only compounded by his violent mother trying to 'balance' the praise of strangers by undermining all of those compliments and confidence whenever he was at home. She refused to validate him, unknowingly building a shadow of _inferiority_ that only made him act out even more to compensate. Yeah, she definitely didn't contribute to his mental image of a happy family. Hit and scream at the people you love. _Force_ them to do things your way. That was his parental guidance.

It was obvious now that he had strayed too far. Hindsight 20/20. Though a clung to the fact that he made Midoriya orgasm. He refused to believe Midoriya didn't want him. He just went a bit too fast, and too far with the whole burning thing.

Thinking back... he used to love the way Midoriya fawned over him. That was the first perversion. When he started this bullying in the first place... because he associated power with admiration, at a certain point he started posturing to get Midoriya to swoon over him, but in doing so only drove him further and further away, driving himself to more and more extreme actions in an escalating loop that led to this...

His fascination with Midoriya had always vexed him. He hated to admit any thing good came out of this, but he was finally starting to piece the puzzle together. He'd been convinced he was on a different level from every one else. The only people worth anything were strong people, like him. So why on earth was he obsessed with the most pathetic, quirkless person he knew? He could never come up with a reason that fit his view, and so he could never come to terms with his feelings. But if power wasn't all that mattered... then of course there was so much to like about Midoriya.

Of course that got even more complicated when suddenly Midoriya got a quirk - how on earth could he hide such a thing for so long? Had he secretly been looking down on him this whole time? Had every one? Was the entire parade of his childhood a lie, did everybody in the comfort of their minds and homes think _he_ was the weak one, just like his mother? Nothing could tear him apart more than Midoriya being stronger than him - he was supposed to be Bakugou's accesory, his trophy. That's where his paradigm started to be threatened, and where he started to get physically abusive - to 'force things back into place', like mama taught him.

He hated how much sense it all made. He hated how terrible he felt. He hated being stuck here, unable to do anything about it. He hated every thing.

* * *

End chapter 9.

A/N: Well, guess I won't ask for discussion, that's apparently asking for failure. lol Here is another addition to the saga, oh nebulous void.


	10. The Last Rehabilitation: Intimacy

Iida stared pointedly across the gym, despite himself. He kept on telling himself he was being petty, but he couldn't help it. Red, white and green danced together doing joint exercises, like Christmas. Yeah, it probably felt like Christmas had come early for Todoroki. Iida tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. It wasn't just that they were matched up with partners by weight class... Midoriya had been spending a lot of time with Todoroki, yes, increasingly more and more ever since Iida hadn't been able to keep his big mouth shut and told him his fire could be helpful. And the more time he spent with Todoroki... the less he spent with Iida.

It was all a natural progression, mathematically of course that made sense. This meant he was getting stronger and more independent, didn't it? It was good for his recovery, right? But that wasn't all - it felt like it was getting harder and harder for them to speak to each other. There was an obvious tension in the air. Midoriya was trying not to rely on him, but... it seemed like he was forcing himself not to. Maybe that's what he needed to do though?

He kept on trying to look in some other direction, his eyes just wouldn't leave the pair. Even as he failed to catch the weighted ball he was supposed to be passing back and forth with Sero between sit-ups a few times, it was like he knew - because in the middle of apologizing to Sero for the second time, his eyes wandered back yet again - and caught Todoroki tracing a finger from a flustered Midoriya's cheek to chin in a _definitely_ more than friendly way.

"Tod-Teacher!" He nearly shouted Todoroki's name in incense. Cementos (among everyone nearby) jolted in response. "Permission to use the restroom, sir." He made a point use the exit closest to Todoroki and did nothing to hide the fury in his eyes.

* * *

"Todoroki!" It must have been fate Midoriya wasn't with him after class, he couldn't have confronted him then. He stopped and turned with his usual unreadable expression. "'You love him too,' 'will you take care of him,' is that not exactly what you said to me?" It was all Todoroki's fault in the first place that he had started thinking like this, and now he dared to dishonor their agreement?

"Well, he doesn't seem to feel tied to you any more. It's your own fault for not cultivating your relationship by now." The absolute non-challance of his rebuttal was infuriating.

"! I couldn't say anything to him while he was recovering, he's emotionally vulnerable!"

"Regardless, he didn't consider himself taken. I was mistaken when I thought he was in love with you." Something snapped inside. Instinctively his fist had balled itself and was hurtling as quickly towards Todoroki's face as it could. But Todoroki's reflexes were much quicker than Iida's topside at least - he swayed back to avoid it. But swaying back put him off balance, so Iida took the chance to charge forward while he couldn't back away and grabbed him by the collar. He swung back his other arm - all his subconscious dearly wanted was one, satisfying deck to the face.

"Don't make me, Iida." Todoroki breathed menacingly. Rather than feel threatened it only goaded him further. _So you think I'm nothing, both in combat and in my feelings for Midoriya? _But he knew Todoroki was on guard to defend himself with ice now. A punch wouldn't be fast enough. Without the slightest betrayal, he blasted his engines such that they spun into an aerial somersault and took the disorienting opportunity to throw Todoroki with a crash into the floor.

Todoroki released the pained groan he'd been longing to hear. But the look in Todoroki's eyes told him his victory was short lived. He jumped back as he noticed the ground freezing over in a telltale radius from its source - but not fast enough. The minute his feet touched down the ice spread up his calves and over his mufflers. Todoroki took his time to walk over and savor control of the moment as Iida struggled in vain to free himself. Right as he returned Iida the favor with a swing to the jaw, Midoriya cried out from nearby.

"Todoroki?! Iida?! What's going on, why are you fighting?!"

Neither had any answer for him, but Todoroki, knowing they were done, took a few steps back and started to melt his ice. The disappointment showed on his face when Midoriya ran straight for Iida. "Are you okay?" Iida barely nodded, feeling that he'd been caught being disgracefully foolish just now.

Todoroki watched in reserved silence until his heart could take no more. "... Imagine such a lonely existence - the first person to truly reach out to me comes along and fate dashes my chances before they've even begun. For a moment it seems I have a second chance... of course I can't help but take it. But even so, I feel like that was the wrong choice too. Fate... really doesn't like me. ...I'm sorry Midoriya, I picked a fight with Iida. I won't do it again. Unless he hurts you. " And he walked away.

_Could he have been talking about... me?_ Midoriya and Iida looked on in stunned silence until he was out of earshot. "You know better than to engage against his quirk... and to fight outside of class - what happened?" He winced at the bruise forming on Iida's cheekbone.

"Izuku." Midoriya's cheeks lit on fire at the use of his first name. "May I have a hug?" He knew Iida asked out of politeness, but it just sounded childish and cute.

"... I thought you'd be tired of hugging me by now." Midoriya mumbled as he cautiously wrapped his arms underneath Iida's and around his back, Iida's enveloping him in this toxic-sweet sensation he'd been missing all too much.

"That's not how I feel at all! Initially... I decided to devote myself to you because it was the right thing to do, but... but over time, I realized... ...I love you." Midoriya clasped a hand over his mouth as tears flooded his eyes.

"Iida-kun...! ... _I'm so relieved...! _...I was so scared that you were just doing it all because you felt like you had to... I thought I was forcing you... that's why I tried to stop... I..." He couldn't take in half as much air as he was letting out. He was getting dizzy with crying.

"I'm sorry I didn't just say it sooner!" He squeezed Midoriya tightly and chided himself even though he knew very well he had his reasons. "...I know you've really gotten back on your own feet now, but... I don't want to let you go. Is it... is it wrong for me to want that? I relished feeling how much you needed me. Am I just selfishly trying to hold you back?"

_Even I realized, I've been using Iida like a crutch. If I don't stop using him, my legs will never get stronger. But... but... ...!_

"Everyone tells me that the way I rely on you isn't healthy for me - but it's brought me so close to you. Closer than I think I could ever be if there were nothing wrong with me. I... I crave that closeness too, even if they say it's wrong! Iida-kun, I _do_ need you!"

Lips crashed needily together in a sealing embrace. What each lacked in experience they made up for with passion. Iida couldn't help but notice Midoriya tasted like salty tears. Perhaps not the most alluring flavor, but fitting. They only finally broke off when Iida realized they could be doing this in the comfort of their room rather than in the middle of the grounds where potentially any one could see them - and whisked Midoriya away accordingly.

* * *

Now that Iida was Midoriya's boyfriend... he was finally in a place to help him rehabilitate with the one thing he thought he never would... _intimacy_. He hadn't tested it yet, but he had a feeling kissing was as far as Midoriya could go. He had also started to suspect that Midoriya wasn't even able to masturbate. He just didn't seem to ever spend enough time in the bathroom for it, and... at least the last couple of times he'd had a flashback nightmare, he'd been having a wet dream. Come to think of it, he couldn't deny that that had been the case before, either. He only knew now because they would sleep together and... well, he was in the splash zone (underneath the same blankets).

But this at least gave him hope that if he could disassociate orgasm with his memories... he'd finally stop having his nightmares. Even so... it was difficult for him to find the conviction to make his first attempt. Being Iida, he read a few books on it first.

Iida's kisses strayed from a reluctant Midoriya's lips down to his neck. He gasped in delight as Iida planted slowly and firmly, trying to neither overwhelm nor tickle him. Finally, when he felt it was time to escalate, he gently raked his teeth across it - probed with a slithering tongue until he felt Midoriya jolt, instinctively raising his hips. Honing in on that sweet spot, he began to nibble and suck gently, sending electricity coursing through the smaller boy's body. He was simpering with pleasure - until one bite was just a bit too hard and suddenly he was pushing away and crying.

Iida was bewildered - it was only once Midoriya calmed down a bit that he explained for the first time the detail that Bakugou had bitten his neck. Iida apologized profusely for making such a fatal mistake - and Midoriya apologized profusely for being unable to enjoy Iida's efforts - and it was a pretty catastrophic start all around. But Iida was determined to pay painstaking attention Midoriya's sensitivities to make sure he never made the same mistake twice.

The second attempt he decided to try grinding against Midoriya while making out instead. Of course, this had the unfortunate side effect of getting himself very hard, but at least it worked for Midoriya too. He started using his hand instead of his own groin when the throbbing threatened to demand attention. Midoriya seemed to enjoy the precision of his fingers - the emphasized point of the tips was bliss - his breath was hitching in irresistible gasps. First he breached the fly of his pants, now stroking through just the thin fabric of his underwear until he started to moan and his thighs quivered.

Iida bent his face down and planted a promising kiss against the silhouette of Midoriya's trapped erection. "Let me take care of you."

"I-Iida...!" Somehow he looked surprised.

"Is it alright?"

"Y-yes, but is that okay for you?" Honestly, Midoriya had been expecting (and preparing himself for) penetration. After all... that's what his impression of sex was - and what dominant men wanted out of it.

"Nothing brings me greater pleasure than taking care of you, Izuku." Midoriya barely had time to marvel at how incredibly sweet Iida was - with that he drew back the rim of Midoriya's underwear, releasing his firm length and took it gingerly in his mouth, slicking every inch in saliva with the flicks of his tongue.

"Ohhh!" The freckled boy arched his back, digging his head and his tailbone into the mattress with restless ecstasy. He never would have imagined in his wildest dreams that he could feel so good - being touched by some one else for the first time, and with their _mouth_ was a very deadly combination. Not to mention after neglecting to service himself for months... the minute Iida got to a decent pace his body threatened to climax any minute, so he had to beg, "Slow down, please, slower," to which Iida happily obliged but then took the opportunity to experiment with some deadly strokes.

Bobbing just past the head and back, swirling his tongue around the tip, running his tongue straight along the underside of his shaft, the push of his tongue pressing the front up against the ceiling of his mouth - none of them was helping him calm down. He felt like his body was racing along a roller coaster, only offering a few mounting seconds of reprieve to appreciate the ride he was on. As soon as Iida climbed back to a steady pump it was all over - within a few seconds of issuing a warning and Iida kicking up speed, he was gushing helplessly.

As the last strand shot out of him, he felt a weightlessness and warmth spread over his entire body. Finally relaxing, it felt like he was sinking into a bed of clouds. Iida shortly rose, catching a bit that had overflown in the corner of his bottom lip with his index finger and sucking it off before lying down.

"Did I please you?" He felt pretty certain he'd hit the mark - but it was safest to ask.

"Yes! ...that was the most incredible feeling I've ever had..." he blushed, perhaps from how cheesy it sounded - but it was true. Iida's ego purred with satisfaction in the background. His conscious sighed with relief. He'd made a successful first step... he pulled Midoriya against his chest and rubbed his back possessively, vaguely wishing he could spend every waking moment touching him. "...but what about you, Iida?" There was an unspoken understanding between them... Midoriya couldn't return the favor - the pillaging of his throat had been the one part he'd divulged from the start.

"...anything I felt at your expense wouldn't feel good at all. Making you feel good makes me feel good. So that's why I don't want you to worry about that until I can be sure that you can enjoy it, alright?" _Iida is the perfect match for me like this..._

"O-Okay..." but even so, something about it felt too unfair. He felt a pressure to prove that was sooner rather than later - for consideration's sake.

* * *

Iida had a plan: to start massaging Midoriya's prostrate while giving him head and getting him used to fingers long before trying to go inside. The past couple of weeks had still been spent just building up some 'stamina', normalizing Midoriya's body so he could even tolerate additional stimulus without erupting prematurely - he had only just started using a hand while sucking, and had made the intermediate stop at Midoriya's balls on the journey to his destination. This was the current stage of his progress, when one night, right as he was ready to lower himself to nuzzle the arousal he'd been building, Midoriya reached out to hold his cheek, looked dead into his eyes and said with captivating certainty, "Tenya... I want to make love with you."

"A-Are you sure?" Iida flushed, caught off guard. Plans were nowhere near complete. He was one to stick to them, but then also... how on earth could he resist those hungry lidded eyes, and the request with the first name he'd been longing to hear ever since he first said 'Izuku'?

"Yes." He smiled and let go of Iida's cheek to reach for his crotch - it twitched and grew noticeably, bulging against the fabric of his pajamas. _Tenya Iida - sex mode engaged._ Midoriya mused as not only his erection transformed but Iida's whole expression and posture shifted. Was it weird to be turned on by a silly observation like that? His robot-like boyfriend...

Iida began grinding with unbridled fervor since he wasn't in danger of giving himself blue balls this time. It was like a dam had broke - all of the impulses he had been keeping in check were pouring out. _Always holding back for me... please let it out, Tenya._ The force of seeing it all at once was a little scary... but he tried to focus on how flattering it was to see so much hidden desire. Iida was fixated on him - the minute he saw a flash of fear in Midoriya's eyes he reigned himself back in.

Once he had the greenette panting with need, he stripped his lower half like peeling a banana - running eager hands across the silky fruit inside - from his ankles up to his thighs, even daring to venture around the back and cop a feel of his soft, sweet ass. Just to hold it revved his engines. Soon - soon he could partake...

Iida lathered his middle and index finger with oral lubrication, letting a reserve of excess pool in the palm of his hand. He reached down and knocked gently at Midoriya's doors, running a finger in a circle around his entrance before peeking inside. He quickly dipped his finger in the reserve to recoat and took another dive slightly further into that heated chasm. As he slowly teased those fingers in and out, he held his other hand up to Midoriya's mouth. "Would you please get this wet for me?"

_Always so polite. _ Midoriya fawned. He obediently dribbled as much spit as he could over it and watched with sheepishly fascination as Iida brandished his massive cock and doused it in Midoriya's juices. _It's bigger_, he thought reflexively, and looked over the whole of his boyfriend's frame. _**He's**__ bigger,_ fear threatened to rise. _He's gentler, too. This is my hero, Tenya. He won't hurt me, _he steeled himself.

Iida took hold of one of Midoriya's hands and wove their fingers together as he lined his head up against Midoriya's entrance and pushed up against it twice, just hard enough to announce his presence without pressing inside. On the third thrust he finally slid in, and pressed further as gradually as it seemed he could possibly manage. "How is it?"

"It feels gooood, Tenya." He was surprised by how pleasant the stretching felt. Iida pumped as gently as he could, ramping up speed at a crawl, watching Midoriya like a hawk, trying to read him with technical precision. "More... I want more..." It seemed Midoriya had a much higher tolerance in the back than the front. Iida kicked up to a dutifully steady pace and finally couldn't help himself from dialing up to probably 40% max speed.

"Izuku, open your eyes," Iida burned the image of Midoriya looking straight at him, mouth agape in a moan, free hand desperately squeezing the sheets and his dick nearly buried to the shaft, deep inside of him. Midoriya was doing his best to hold contact but couldn't stop his eyes from occasionally rolling back.

"Nnngh! H-Harder, please!"

"Your wish is my command." Iida rose to his knees and lifted Midoriya by the hips for better leverage, finally thrusting every inch of himself inside, drawing back out nearly to the head, then pulling the smaller boy back down over him. After awhile of that he felt it - it was time to finish things. He compromised a fraction of his force to reintroduce speed. Midoriya was quickly pushed to the edge and made some wild, nearly frantic moans right before spewing hot, slimy cum between them. Iida pulled out and jerked himself rapidly, spraying all over Midoriya's torso.

They both just tried to catch up with their breathing for a bit. Iida was staring down - Midoriya was guessing at his handiwork? When his eyes ventured further up and he noticed Midoriya was watching him, he tensed as though caught and excused himself to the restroom. He came back with a towel and started cleaning all the clearing white beads and puddles off Midoriya's belly.

"...did you like finishing on top of me like that?"

Iida froze. "U-Um-"

"It's fine if that's what you like! I just want you to enjoy it..." Embarrassment was a strange thing. They'd just had sex and yet talking about it was making Midoriya blush.

"I-It's not that, it's..." Iida sighed. "Holding it in for the right moment is difficult - I was overdoing it to be careful, I... I just wanted to last until you finished."

As he suspected - coming on top seemed too primal for his romantic Iida. "Iida, you're thinking too much about me again."

"There's no such thing as far as I'm concerned."

"I... I think you can keep thrusting inside me after I finish. I want you to finish inside of me. Even though you're doing all the work... it makes me feel like I helped, then." Iida made a very pointed exhale. Glancing over, he saw him holding unnaturally still with a very flushed and strained face. "Iida?"

"I'm sorry, when you said that... it wants to go up, but there's nothing left..." His voice trailed off in pain.

"I-I'm sorry!"

* * *

"Oh my god, it's totally Iida and Midoriya banging out!" Kaminari backed away from the door to Iida's dorm room.

"Let me hear!" Mineta pushed over and pressed his ear against it.

"You wanna hear two dudes?!" Kaminari was starting to question if _anything_ was beneath Mineta.

"Tch, amateur... in a relationship like this, Midoriya is just like a girl... Ahhh... I can hear her now, all it takes is a little imagination."

"That's seriously sick." Kirishima, not for the first time, lamented that these perverts were the company he was left with. They'd just come by so Kaminari could get something out of his room and then they'd heard a little moan and _had_ to dig their noses into it.

"We should totally report this, right?" Kaminari looked to Kirishima as his sounding board.

"How dare you suggest such a thing! You have no respect for the bro code! If any of us scores, it's the duty of our friends to keep it safe!" Mineta hissed.

"Wake up! Midoriya was sexually traumatized, don't you think Iida's taken advantage of some one in a delicate state?"

"...I don't know." Kaminari was dumbfounded. He could usually trust Kirishima to politely let him know when he said something stupid (his internal filter was... lacking.) but he was pretty sure about this one.

"That's totally what it is!" He insisted.

"You're just being a squealer again, can't you keep your mouth shut about anything?!" Mineta hissed again. The insult kinda stung.

"Hey. Think about it. Iida's the person who's stepped up the most to help Midoriya . Some times, it's like he's the expert, he's the only one who knows what to do about it. Imagine if they made him stay away."

"It's Stockholm syndrome! He's a control freak, he's made Midoriya totally dependent on him!"

"Do you even know what Stockholm syndrome is? You're just parroting stuff you heard from Tsu and you're not even getting it right." Seriously few things were more demeaning than being torn into by Mineta.

"I don't think so." Kirishima clenched a fist. "Not every thing can be fixed. I don't think Midoriya _can_ go back to how he was. The best he'll get is with Iida's help - and if Iida's willing to give it - and if what he wants for that is sex, then what's it to us?" He couldn't finish saying it without blushing, but he meant it.

"**Get away from that door.**" Without even noticing that he'd arrived, all of a sudden Todoroki was on the other side of the hall, looking absolutely livid.

"W-What the hell Todoroki, are you in on this secret too?!" Kaminari called back.

In a blink, the hallway was frozen over. "One more warning. Get away."

"W-Whatever man, I told you we should just bud out. Let's get out of here!" Kirishima led the way past Todoroki and down the staircase.

_How dare they stand here listening to his moans... making a spectacle of him..._

Todoroki pressed his own ear to the door.

_I'm sorry, Midoriya._

* * *

End chapter 10.

A/N: I've never really written sex that made me laugh before, but... I couldn't _not_ write it that way this time. lol

EDIT: Hold up a sec, Cementos' subject is modern literature?! Did I space out or is that not even shown in the anime? Dang it, just when I think I'm adhering better to the universe... *sigh*


	11. Mistrial

Disclaimer: I don't really know that much about the law (especially in Japan ^ ^;), I'm just going with something that sounds vaguely plausible enough to fit into my story.

...

"Mom? How are you?"

"_Izuku - It's terrible - they just showed it on channel 9 - they're letting him out!_"

"W...What do you mean?"

"_Oh, honey... they're releasing Bakugou from the detention center!_"

"Why...?"

"_It's nonsense! I'm going to go over there right now!_"

...

The official reason: mistrial for a lack of physical evidence and victim testimony. These had been overturned at the time of the trial due to the abundance of circumstantial evidence, Midoriya's being hospital-bound and Bakugou's confession, but apparently the court could just take back rulings after the fact...? The phrase "Corpus Delicti" was being thrown around like a hot potato.

Inko and Iida had spent the last few days calling back and forth about developments in their attempts to file some kind of rebuttal against the appeal. Midoriya couldn't find it in him to be a part of the conversation. Currently Iida was sending Inko the (hopefully valid) mailing address of the attorney general who had appealed the case. Midoriya was mindlessly squeezing a hand grip and staring at a page of homework he wasn't making any progress on.

At the very least, he'd been assured by principal Nezu that there was no chance Bakugou would be readmitted to U.A. So he at least had the school security on his side for now. But at winter break... _You're overestimating yourself, maybe he'll just forget about me, right? The only reason he kept on bothering me was because we were always in school together, I was always nearby. That's why. If he has to go somewhere else, maybe he'll leave me alone..._ But this was Bakugou's dream school. Surely he would blame the fact that he had been expelled on Midoriya. And maybe seek revenge for it...

Even before this, Bakugou was tried as a minor - which meant his sentence was a lot shorter to begin with. 5 years for aggravated assault, statutory rape and unlicensed use of a quirk... it certainly wasn't forever, but he'd at least had the hope that by the time Bakugou got out, he would be a fully realized hero - easily capable of defending himself while his attacker had been wasting away in prison... 4 months and he wasn't even sure that he'd caught up to Bakugou's skill.

He felt like a storm was brewing but prayed he was wrong. He thought all he could do was try to become strong enough to escape. Iida's overprotectiveness more than doubled, but to be honest... he wasn't sure how much hope Iida stood against Bakugou either, and he didn't want to find out.

...

That same week, after the last class, as Iida and Midoriya exited the main building, they were greeted by: **"...IZUKU! COME OUT HERE! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY, OKAY?! SO LET ME SAY IT FACE TO FACE! OI, IZUKU!**" drifting in a constant stream over the nearest school border. Several of the heads that had paused to listen to the commotion turned to watch Midoriya run in the opposite direction, and Iida right after him (as much as he would rather be chasing Bakugou away).

Kirishima couldn't help himself. He ran out the nearest gate and over to the spot all the racket was coming from - and sure enough, there was loud as hell Bakugou in the flesh. "Bakugou, what are you doing here?"

"Exactly what I've been yelling, you idiot!"

"I mean - how could you think this is going to work? Midoriya ran away the minute he heard your voice. If you keep it up security's going to come."

"...ran away, huh?"

"...I still can't believe... why did you do it?"

"A lot of reasons. ...hey, then give him my message. ...please." The delivery of the last word was blatantly unnatural.

"...what is it?"

"I'm sorry that I hurt him. I'll never do it again. I think I know what it is now, and... I'm going to be the kind of hero that he likes." Kirishima stayed silent. Yeah, probably from how benevolent his apology was, right? But then he was silent for too long and Bakugou thought maybe the dunce just didn't catch it. "You got that?"

"...I can't tell him that."

"WHAT THE HELL, YOU AGREED!"

"I'm surprised you came to apologize, so I'm glad about that, but... you need to move on. Midoriya's... seeing some one."

Bakugou stood taller and poised his hand as though ready to make some fireworks. "Who?"

"What does it matter? Are you going to do something even worse to them? Get a hold of yourself! I see they made a little progress with your rudeness, but the real problem is your obsession with Midoriya, isn't it? Let it go, man."

"...it's fucking half-and-half, isn't it?"

"Are you even listening to me?!"

"...fine. It doesn't matter who it is. Whoever... I'm going to beat them."

"That's it - I'm going to call security on you myself if you don't leave now." Bakugou gave him a dismissive wave... of thanks? And walked off into the distance...

_Did I do something bad just now...?_ Kirishima couldn't help but wonder as he bid farewell to the friend he thought he once had, though he didn't think this would be his last time seeing him...

...

Midoriya finally stopped against a wall halfway across the gargantuan campus to catch his breath. He sunk to his knees. "Izuku!" Iida knelt beside him.

"It's so much worse than I thought..." he started in a hoarse half-whisper. "He came to find me, with all these people around... he doesn't care if it gets him in trouble... Kacchan has incredible determination, if he's set his mind on it he'll keep on trying until he succeeds..."

"Izuku, calm down. I won't allow him near you. I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"...he called me 'Izuku'. He hasn't called me that since we were kids. ...and he said he was sorry. I wonder if he actually means it...?"

"Or maybe he thought that would be the best way to lure you out. There's no point in agonizing over the words of some one untrustworthy. It's like you said, the fool made a direct attempt to contact you with dozens of witnesses around - that's a violation against your restraining order. Let's report it to his probation officer right away."

...

"Thank you for taking the time to come meet with me today, Ms. Midoriya, Izuku, and...?" The attorney general trailed.

"Tenya Iida, friend of the family, sir."

"Iida-san, yes, I recognize you from the sports festival - tied for third. " His tone was polite but his eyes were suspicious. "Now, I know that you're all concerned about the appeal to Katsuki Bakugou's sentence - and as the plaintiff of his charges, your need for reassurance is to be expected. But rest assured, Bakugou is a changed young man."

"So you admit that he raped and assaulted Izuku?" Inko fired.

"Well, I can't speak to what happened. Unfortunately the fact of the matter is, the evidence presented in the case was not clear enough."

"We were told we didn't need to present more evidence because of the circumstances! I have with me Izuku's medical record - look at that and tell me how we were supposed to bring him to court!?"

"Ms. Midoriya, please. Allow me to appeal to your better nature." He didn't even glance at the records. "It's true that upon his imprisonment it was clear that Bakugou had some very distorted ideals - but he has made astounding progress towards correcting them. He worked with a world renowned psychologist who has assured me he has totally reformed. I believe the report I received about the attempt to contact Izuku said he was seeking to offer an apology, no?"

"As some one who is so steadfast about the qualifications of evidence, I think you appreciate that ANY attempt to contact Midoriya is a breach of the restraining order, regardless of its intention?" A red glimmer danced in Iida's eyes. "If you admit that he has reformed, you're admitting that he's done wrong. If that's the case, _why_ did you appeal this case?"

"...you know, you're right. I'm sorry for not telling you the whole truth of the matter, you're clearly all very serious about this. Very well - here is the crux of the issue. Did you know that a reported 53% of villains tried to be heroes at one point? For people like Bakugou that have spent their entire life dedicated to cultivating their quirk... well, basically they're very likely to be determined to use it, regardless of whether they're granted permission or not. It's much more prudent to do everything we can to help push these individuals towards the right path than to cut them off at their first offense."

"He's being allowed to enroll somewhere else?! You're bending the rules to try and 'make' more heroes?" Iida rose in indignation.

"If he's able to recover and become a proper hero now, wouldn't that be much better than if we kept him locked up for several more years until he was too old to enroll in any courses to get a license and decided to turn to a whole life of crime? You need to think in the long term."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing. You're undermining the consequence of crime and the actual values of heroism to try and improve your statistics." There was a mutinous air brewing between Iida and the man across from them. Each had very nearly murderous expressions on. Midoriya quickly intervened.

"I-Iida-kun, I think that's going a bit too far. I don't like that he's out either, but... but I can see what the attorney general is saying."

"Izu..." Midoriya looked almost a little terrified. _He wants me to stop_. "...I'm sorry for speaking out of turn, if Midoriya understands then it's not my place to say anything." He sat back down.

"Thank you for your understanding. It's not that we don't believe what was done to you isn't deserving of punishment, but as you can see, there's so much more to consider."

"That's not enough for me. You say this is in the best interest of society - my son is a part of this society. Where are the measures to ensure _his_ safety?"

"...again, Ms. Midoriya - I believe that Bakugou holds no more intention to harm your boy, and of course you have your restraining order - if there are any further violations I promise that we will handle them properly. Now I'm afraid I have another meeting... it was very good to meet you all."

...

"He probably only arranged to meet us to try and convince us not to take their obvious mishandlings to the press... It's unacceptable... the decision that they've made."

"I don't agree with it either, but you need to remember who you're talking to, Tenya-kun. I don't think there's a lot we can do to change their minds... and I'm a little afraid what he might have said if you kept on." They stood side by side, holding overhead supports in a train back to UA.

"You think he would even stoop to silence me with false allegations?"

"N-No, he was just saying they want as many people to be heroes as they can, that would completely go against what he was just saying, right?" _But even so, the menacing look he was giving Tenya.._

"...perhaps they would, if the crime were opposition to them..." Iida muttered under his breath.

"Tenya, what are you saying?" _That sounds like a thought that's going to get you in a lot of trouble._

"N-Nothing, I'm sorry."

"_I'm_ sorry... for always making you worry so much on my behalf."

"You know it's not your fault at all." Iida kissed him on the forehead.

...

"**IZUKU! I'M NEVER GONNA HURT YOU AGAIN, SO COME SEE ME!**"

This time Iida wasted no time calling the police, and had Midoriya stay inside the building where he couldn't hear Bakugou's yelling but he was obviously within range of the attempt so there would be no question. The police arrived, took a couple statements and drove Bakugou off. But, learning from the last time - Iida called the station again the next day... and was informed that Bakugou was not arrested, but fined and sent home. Iida was strangely quiet about the whole thing... you would expect him to go on a tirade and launch a paperwork assault on the local justice system, but this time... he wouldn't say much more than promise Midoriya that it would stop.

In fact, Iida started to get very quiet in general, spending far more amounts of time studying where he would previously have spent them - well, doing whatever Midoriya wanted to do. Despite Bakugou not showing up for the next couple of weeks, Midoriya was getting increasingly worried - and lonely. Iida wouldn't talk to him about whatever was on his mind, even though there was definitely something...

Instead he was left with his own thoughts... and naturally, they wandered to Bakugou. Could it really be possible that he could change so much in so short a time? He tried his best to deny it, but... he really did want to hear whatever apology he had prepared. If he could hear the apology, maybe he would know from that if it was genuine... _Stop - what does it matter if he's really sorry or not? I never want anything to do with him again... why is that so hard to say?_ His heart felt sick.

...

End chapter 11.


	12. Rendezvous

Reply to Raboto's review: **(Chapter begins at line break)**

Oh wow! The void has more voices - thanks very much for reading and your response and that input on the legal aspect - it seems I misunderstood the little research I was doing as well, corpus delicti apparently means that some one cannot confess to a crime if there's no proof that the crime even happened. (Which definitely does not apply to this case, so... dang.) I'm not sure I understand the second part - so you're saying some one at high school age would be tried as an adult if they'd done crimes that severe?

To the rape apologist comment, I have a whole book for, if you're willing to read it (I mean you made it this far into my story, you're clearly a patient reader):

I thought the whole chapter conveyed the the corruption of the situation, as I had Iida himself say "You're undermining the consequence of crime," (the point is that the trend of Bakugou being a 'golden boy' who is not being held accountable is continuing, because it's an issue that I would like to take a stab at myself and I can't very well do much with him if he's stuck in jail - and also to make a small nod to the very real hardships of the justice system mishandling many rapes) but now that you mention it, I definitely see your concern. (*spoilers* Midoriya totally has some lingering Stockholm Syndrome. I intend to make Bakugou suffer and grow (he is nowhere near done), though I have a feeling the means by which I do so may not appease you.)

I promise I'm not a rape apologist. This is a pretty hairy thing for me to try and argue because I'm literally writing an off-shoot of rape fantasy. And that's one of my main motivators for actually publishing it as well - I wanted comments that could help me pick apart why on earth I fantasize about things I don't condone - largely for some validation that I'm not the only human being made this way, (even though my google searches and forum postings tell me that rape fantasies are pretty common.)

That leads me to another thought - almost any story has conflict in it, a lot of them sprouting from some criminal action - do we like stories based on whether the outcome matches our personal sense of justice?

In which case - so, I'll be upfront, I struggle with leanings towards vigilante-ism, I often wish I could kill people that I have deemed guilty. I'm vengeful. Some one very close to me is an idealist, who believes that we (as a society) should always strive for rehabilitation over punishment. My initial predisposition was to _basically _murder Bakugou, but Caliban's comment that any one deserves a chance for redemption made me change my mind, because I liked their review so much, and probably because that person close to me is always trying to nudge me in that direction as well so I'm susceptible to it, and honestly impossible altruism is a key component of the shounen genre.

Now, that poses a couple problems. A) I'm working against my usual nature, so it would make sense if the pieces don't quite fit right or come off in the wrong way (kind of like I'm imitating something from watching how some one else did it rather than understanding all the theory behind it), B) I'm cobbling it into a skeleton where I was working towards a different outcome. SO! Sorry if I'm not hitting the mark, I don't mean to offend any one (though I'm bound to have a hard time of it, writing about a delicate subject and all) - I agree that rapists deserve punishment. My impression of altruism is that the focus of that punishment should be on instigating regret and change in the perpetrator rather than inflicting an equal amount of suffering, that would be revenge - hatred begets more hatred, yada yada. Because this is a story where I'm in control, I can basically force that to happen though I will attempt to do so in a way that makes sense to me.

I appreciate you taking the time to write to me. If you want to talk any more please please PM me or review with an account so I don't have to inflate the chapter. XD

**CHAPTER START VVV**

* * *

_"Tell me. You said you were world famous. You aren't working with any of the other prisoners here. That means someone cares a lot about these sessions, right?"_

_"...the purpose of this place is to rehabilitate, and that's what we're doing."_

_"I mean some one important! I bet being famous makes you more expensive or something. So we're not just following standard procedure."_

_"Or the warden thought you were a particularly difficult case that their regular staff wasn't equipped to handle."_

_"Whatever - if the point is to fix me, then what if I prove I can do that, before my sentence is over? What's the point of keeping me in here if I finish early?"_

_"...you _can't_ 'finish early', the point is that your actions have consequences. Of course you don't want to be here, that's why it's a punishment._ _Does that make you less motivated to atone?"_

_" ...no... it just means I have to prove it to you even harder so it's undeniable!"_

_"... have you even considered that your inability to accept 'no' as an answer is part of what led you to rape?"_

_Finally, something stuck._

* * *

_"So, you agree now, right? That being top hero isn't just about being the strongest? Well then, what else is there? What do you think you've been missing?"_

_"Heroes are good guys so they don't do illegal shit, like I did."_

_"...you're about as blunt as a mallet. And your emphasis on actions being legal or not implies that you only care about being punished for them, not what they actually accomplish."_

_"I'm just tryin'a make it obvious what I mean!"_

_"You know, before quirks, the word 'hero' had nothing to do with power. It meant 'some one outstandingly courageous or noble.' In other words, people who would do dangerous and difficult things for the sake of others. Powerless, ordinary people that stood up to an impossible task any way," Midoriya unbiddenly came to mind. " And they didn't always win, either. Sometimes they died trying, or sacrificed themselves to accomplish that task. I believe that's what you're missing, Bakugou. That consideration. I know you pass basic morality tests, but if this is the origin of the title, you should be held to a higher standard than just 'not criminal'. If I were grading you on it, you'd be scraping by with a D. You're a straight A student, right? So you better catch up."_

* * *

His therapists' words echoed in his head while he worked out in his room. (His mom basically had him on house arrest, otherwise he _definitely_ wouldn't be hanging out here, even if he was just waiting for responses from other hero schools around town.) They had stuck around in his head a lot better than he had ever guessed they would. Honestly she was like a catchier, female Best Jeanist and the thought kind of pissed him off - not only because he'd hated that stupid intern week but the fact that he had to be taught the same thing twice before getting it.

His mom's signature banging on the door interrupted him. He responded with exaggerated shouting out of habit, before he could even consider putting any of this therapist's takeaways to practice.

"Letter for you, from UA. It had better not be another warning for trying to sneak into that goddamn school again, Katsuki!"

"Ehhh, I told you haven't been back, damn nosy old hag!" He snatched it out of her hand. Really it was a surprise that she hadn't already opened and read it herself, so he knew exactly why she kept standing around expectantly. As he pulled it out it he could see it was a standard typed out notice of some kind. "Nothing important, just some pencil pusher forgot to take us off the mailing list."

He flipped through all the pages just to make sure, and that's when he saw it. A folded little square paper-clipped to the second page that said '_Kacchan_'. He recognized the handwriting, too. He slid it into the hand holding that side of the page with a motion pretending to trace lines down the page as he read, then handed the printed sheets back to his mom for inspection. She didn't say anything but winced at him like, _'You got off easy this time... next time I'll have something to yell more about_,_' _and strutted back out.

After slamming his door shut he hastily unfurled the note.

_I want to hear what you have to say but if we're seen you'll get in trouble. If you really care, meet me at the Yoyogi Park river, where we used to play - at Midnight on Friday._

_P.S. Some one will be expecting me right after, so don't get any funny ideas._

_Expecting you at one in the morning? His fucking boyfriend, undoubtedly... Heh, yet he wants to see me despite his stupid boyfriend any way. A secret meeting without him? I knew you were mine, Izuku. I'll have you out of that bastard's greasy mitts in no time._

He had just been agonizing about how he could get Midoriya's attention again, too - his probation officer was pretty clear that if he showed up screaming outside of UA one more time he was chop liver. You had to admit, things always worked out pretty nicely for Bakugou - not that he just sat back and took it easy. He made the most of the chances he was given - this was no exception.

* * *

It was the promised night. Bakugou was standing along the bank of the stream he'd fallen in as a kid, fingering Midoriya's note. He'd kept the note in his pocket every day and fiddled with it whenever his hands were idle - just touching it filled him with hope - it was getting soft and fuzzy from the dogged attention. Right as he pulled out his phone to check the time - 11:56 - for a split second he heard some kind of engine - then suddenly a force like a speeding truck nailed him in the back of the head, knocking him face first onto the floor. His mind was reeling, threatening to shut off, but being Bakugou the combat savant, he was still able to catch his attacker's feet in the corner of his eye and saw him positioning for another hit. He rolled onto his back just in time to dodge a dropkick that definitely would have put him out of commission and saw the guy's face just before blasting him away."

"You?!" There was an amused disbelief in his tone. "Fucking Glasses - are you Izuku's boyfriend? You gotta be kidding me!"

_How does he know that? It's not even common knowledge - has he been spying somehow?_

"You've really pissed me off, though. Kicking your ass was on my list, but number one is talking to Izuku! How dare you fake me out!" The nerd was keeping his back to the forest, preventing Bakugou from using anything flashy, lest he light up the trees. He tried to jump over and maneuver in the air to get behind him but the bastard's specialty was speed after all. "Quit playing chicken with me, dammit! Don't you wanna fight?!" _Rile him up, he'll try to close the gap and punt my head like a soccer ball again, damn horse legs... but coming here will put him in the open._ "I guess I should be glad it's a stick in the mud like you, I bet you haven't even been making use of Izuku."

"Use?!"

"That sweet body..." Sure enough, the minute Iida turned to a blur Bakugou preemptively blasted the area right in front of him, since his reflexes wouldn't be quick enough to actually catch him. As the smoke cleared it revealed Iida on the ground, apparently he'd got hit pretty bad. Time to make his point. Bakugou kicked him onto his stomach (_engines facing up where all they have to run into is the ground, ya sneaky bastard_) and dug a heel into his spine to keep him down.

"So tell me, did you get him to write that letter? Did he try to send you here to take care of me? Or was that your idea?"

"It's forged. I don't want him to ever have to think about you again." Iida spat.

He'd hit a nerve. Somewhere in Bakugou there was a fear that that was entirely possible. He kneeled down, wanting to yell at this jerk a little closer and that's when he noticed something under Iida's shirt. He pulled it out to get a better look - it was a little machete or something. "What the fuck is this?! A knife?! Just what kind of fucked up shit were you planning?!" _If he wanted to kill me it, he should have just started with it. Unless... he just wanted to torture me first?_ "Oh boy, you've really done it to yourself now... there's no way Izuku's gonna wanna date a fucking murderer. You just proved it for me- I'm the better man!"

"LET HIM GO!" Midoriya came jumping in with a kick just like Iida started this whole thing, knocking Bakugou off his perch. Bakugou was uncharacteristically on the defensive for once, but Midoriya was in too much of a frenzy to notice, throwing punch after punch to send him back. Bakugo dodged with a kickboxer-esque weave.

"Hey hey, stop it! I wanna talk to you!" He eventually caught one of Midoriya's wrists to hold him still, but rather than calm him it triggered a flash of deja vu. He punched Bakugou so hard he finally accomplished what Iida had been after - Bakugou fell over unconscious.

Midoriya dashed over to Iida and started tugging him to his feet with all his might. "Please, please, let's go."

"Izuku, why are you here?"

"You've been acting so strange lately... this is why, isn't it? _Please_, we can talk about it somewhere else - _**I need to get away from him**_." His eyes brimmed with tears.

"I can do that right now. I can make sure he never hurts you again." Iida clenched the handle of the knife.

"NO!" Midoriya openly sobbed. "You can't!"

"Nobody else will! The courts won't do a damn thing! It's the only way I can make sure you're safe from him." The red vengeance flooded his irises.

_My intense Tenya - it's just like with Stain. You lose sight of right and wrong when some one you love is hurt - you lose sight of everything but your goal... _"Killing him isn't the answer!"

"I'm not going to kill him! I'm going to castrate him and disable his sweat glands."

Midoriya was completely dumbfounded. "W... what?"

"Without those two things he can't hurt you any more."

"C-C-Castrating some one is still definitely illegal! And is it even possible to do that to some one's sweat glands?"

"I'm not sure, but... well, Yaoyarozu agreed it should work in theory." He brandished some sort of mystery device, clearly of her creation.

Midoriya didn't even know where to start. He needed a minute to process everything and being in view of Bakugou was not helping him think at all. He clung to Iida's arm and screwed his eyes shut, trying his best to focus. "...stop. You'd essentially be making him quirkless. It might seem like poetic justice, but... I think he'd rather be dead than that. It's not better."

"Who cares what he'd rather?! This is about what he **deserves**! Think about it - he _should have_ been kept in prison and never allowed to apply as a hero again. If that had happened, he wouldn't legally be allowed to use his quirk any way."

"... I can't take away Kacchan's dream... " _Because I know what that's like...!_

"Listen to yourself. You're being unreasonable. Why are you trying to protect him from the consequences of hurting you? Please. Let me do this." Midoriya merely shook his head.

"But... Izuku... what else can I do to protect you?" Iida was shaking with frustration. He was _so_ close. But he couldn't do anything against Midoriya's wishes, or else he'd be no better...

"Run with me," he begged.

"That's not an answer either - I don't want you to have to run and live in fear forever."

_We can't stop him... and no one else will stop him... so...! _"...if he stops himself...! If he can be sorry, tell me it won't happen again and I can believe him..." Realization flowed through him.

Iida balked. "What?! No! He hasn't really changed - he- he said something disgusting, he doesn't respect you and his first instincts are still insults and violence. You can't trust anything he says! I won't let you open yourself to him! He's just going to hurt you again! Don't even think about putting your feelings in his hands! Didn't we say he'll never hurt you again because you won't let him?!"

"Izuku Midoriya - Tenya Iida - I suggest you both listen very carefully, because this situation doesn't look very good for you at all." A woman holding her phone in front of her walked out of the trees towards Bakugou and checked his pulse. "I'm Bakugou's psychologist, and despite my warnings that idiot attorney decided to twist my words and release him any way... look at the mess it's made. I couldn't help but overhear... well, everything, really. I think I can help you - if you're willing to help _me_. Let's walk and talk." She beckoned them towards the trail out. It was hard to argue with potential blackmail, and Iida was at least thankful for an excuse to get Midoriya away from Bakugou now that he'd expressed such a ludicrous intent.

"As I said, I agree that guy should have been kept locked away. He needs a lot more work. As an adult, I'm ashamed our justice system has failed you kids. Unfortunately, its not uncommon for sex crimes to be mishandled in particular, and when the heroes get thrown into the mix, well... I'll just say important people have gotten into a bad habit of hiring me to clean up their dirty work.

"There are true heroes and there are career heroes. The government doesn't account for the difference. So long as the people they license follow their orders, that's what they're interested in. They'll bend the rules to preserve these pawns. That's what they want from Bakugou. And that's where my friends and I come in. See, I've accumulated a lot of friends who believe in karma. Just sometimes karma's gotta be man-made, you know? I can tell you already understand, Iida. I thought your quirk disabling idea was pretty good, but if Midoriya wants something a little less extreme...

"I have a nifty little quirk that lets me see and alter people's emotions. Nothing as specific as thoughts, just feelings. I'll show you," she poked them each and they felt a sudden prickle of guilt - another poke and it changed into a kind of paranoia - one more and it washed away in a flood of relief. "I can prolong it, too. So long as something I made is touching my target. Not to mention what my friends can do. So? What do you think? We could make him pay."

It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly some amazing stroke of luck, Iida thought. "You said you wanted something from us as well?"

"Ah yes - nothing too big. Just become one of my friends. Answer my call when I've found another unfortunate case that needs to be made right. I know your quirks probably won't be best suited for it, but... maybe one day, if there are enough of us, we can even change this broken system that's main objective is to perpetuate itself." Iida was sold and it was written on his face.

"Thank you for taking pity on my circumstance, doctor. But... I don't wish anything spiteful or any kind of revenge on Kacchan. All I want is for him to stop and be sorry. And I want him to choose it for himself."

"...wow, I'm not sure if you're some kind of a saint or if you're just carrying a torch for your tormentor - consider that for yourself, because every time you shield Bakugou I'm pretty sure you're slowly breaking Iida's heart. Of course, it's perfectly understandable to want to hear him acknowledge what he's done and apologize, unfortunately... his apology isn't ready yet. Besides which, I have another piece of advice, Midoriya. Don't just let him say it. Make him show it." She came to a halt and sighed deeply. "I'll delete my 'evidence' so don't worry about that. Just be careful." With that, she waved farewell and walked off the trail.

_Or maybe he just read my bluff. I can't leave a job half done..._

* * *

End chapter 12.

A/N: _How many more people are hiding in the bushes, waiting to come out at the dramatically appropriate time? (ALL OF CLASS 1-A) jk _

I usually try not to write original characters so this could get a little rocky, but I felt like I needed another chess piece on the table.


End file.
